Piece it Together
by merrygolds
Summary: A troublemaker who enjoys loitering in the back of buildings while smoking cigarettes, or a misunderstood teenager that no one will take the time to get to know? Blair isn't sure which Paul Lahote is; all she knows is that his eyes are a pretty shade of honey and that he's suddenly everywhere she is. [Paul/OC]
1. one

_"I'd say so much to you..."_

_{{_**_ Dead in the Water; Ellie__ Goulding _**_}}_

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><p>I can't tell if this puddle just ran deeper than others or if I'd stepped down harder than normal, but whatever the reason, the bottom part of my right pants leg is soaking wet now. The heavy moisture is drenching my skin, too, and making the material of my jeans stick uncomfortably. Sighing, I hang my head in defeat, grumbling curse words under my breath.<p>

"Come on, Blair. We're going to be late for class!"

"My pants are wet!" I whine.

A snicker is what I'm met with and I glare at Sadie.

My friend is nice and dry underneath the shade of a big umbrella, her rain boots keeping her own jeans from getting drenched like mine had. I wish I had remembered to stash mine inside my car last night, but I'd gotten in late and my mind had been full of thoughts that hadn't centered on proper outerwear for rainy days.

"They'll dry faster inside," says my friend. "Mr. Holtmen is going to put us in detention if we're late again."

Begrudgingly, I trudge up by her side, sending her a grateful smile when Sadie shelters me underneath her umbrella too. She just chuckles over at me before nudging me playfully with her shoulder.

We manage to make it into the front entrance without further incident with the rain and are met with a pleasing kind of warmth that envelops me comfortingly. I sigh as Sadie closes her umbrella, helping her stash the wet thing in the plastic bag she'd brought to prevent her book bag from getting any water on it.

We're trying to shove the whole thing back down into her book satchel when someone bumps into me harshly from behind. Gasping in alarm, I grasp Sadie's shoulders as we both go stumbling forward, not managing to do anything but hit my head on an open locker and get my feet tangled up with hers.

"Oh, shit!"

"Dude…"

The two voices sound from behind me and as I manage to untangle myself and blink through the stifling headache now pummeling through my brain, I gather that one of them was probably responsible for this accident.

I detach myself from Sadie carefully, then gently push a hand against my forehead before turning to see who'd stumbled into me. A glare transforms my features at the sight of two members of the 'Uley Gang' and I scoff while shaking my head (which, a few seconds later, I find to be a bad idea).

"Pricks," I mutter while turning away from them.

Sadie, though, seems to have different thoughts about the two boys. She's grinning prettily over at them and at the sight of her batting her eyes, I just scowl more. When I go to edge her back down the hallway, she seems content on staying exactly where she is, rooting herself to the scratched floor underneath us.

"Sorry," comes one of them. "Paul threw a long pass."

"That's alright," Sadie says, smiling bigger.

"Didn't hurt ya, did we?" comes the first boy again.

I turn then because I feel like my head is splitting and all I want to do is go sit down in my desk. I want to find the rest of our friends and get away from these two because they make me severely annoyed.

All I can think about as I glance over at the first who'd spoke—Jared, I think—is how they keep staring at Jacob, Embry, and Quil, as if they're considering inducting them into Uley's little gang too. They're obnoxious and annoying and slightly scary, and I just want to get as far away from them as possible.

"Yea," I jeer. "You did. I feel like my head is splitting open."

Sadie turns her attention to me then, a deep frown settling onto her features. She grimaces as she looks me over and I deduce that there's probably some kind of mark on my forehead now. _Great_, I think, _now I'll have to walk around with what looks like a pimple on my forehead all day._

It just makes me hate the two boys standing in front of me even more.

"You don't look so good, Blair. Maybe you should go see the nurse," Sadie quips.

"I just need to sit down."

The second boy, the one who'd remained quiet and rather rude during this whole exchange, scoffs as he leans down a little in order to see me clearer. His brown eyes swivel over my forehead quickly before slithering down to quickly look over the rest of me—at least, that what I think he means to do, anyway. I don't really know because the boy stops at my eyes and stares into them so long that I can't see anything but the different specks of brown and golden hues flecked in his irises.

For a second Sadie fades and I-Think-Jared does as well, both molding into the blurred background of the busy hallway.

I want to think that I've hit my head and am becoming really disorientated, and that's why I'm getting so lost in trying to figure out the different shades of colors locked into the orbs of this extremely tall boy. However, as I stare longer and longer and sort of lean into the warmth that's radiating off him and seemingly trying to envelop me, something is whispering in the back of my mind that hitting my head has nothing to do with why I'm suddenly so absorbed in him. It's trying to explain what's really happening, that little voice is, but a pang erupts through my head that garbles the words and I jump a little at the feel of an ache pulsing through the front of my brain.

I have to pull myself out of the strong hold his stare has me in, then, because I've started to tilt too far forward and end up stumbling into his friend. I-Think-Jared's hands are a little sloppy as he catches me and he barely touches my form as I try to stumble my way back over to Sadie.

"Jesus, Blair," murmurs Sadie. "You really should go see the nurse. I think you hit your head harder than you think."

She helps me keep standing when I stagger into her, though she, too, almost slips from the weight of me.

"Fine," I grumble. "Help me down there."

I sling my arm over her shoulders, shift my book bag higher up on my back, and start to shuffle away with her aid. I think to glance behind me in order to get a last peek at the two boys who'd so rudely careened into us, but fight against the urge—only to lose moments later when I feel as if someone is staring at us.

I-Think-Jared and Caramel-Eyed-Boy are, in fact, staring at us. Actually, only Caramel-Eyed-Boy is staring and his warm gaze is only locked on me. His jaw is set in a way that I think looks to signal that he's now a lot more upset than when one of them went falling on top of me and I-Think-Jared is trying to talk him out of something by the looks of how fast his mouth is moving.

Without being able to help it, I flick my gaze back up to his dark honey eyes, searching for something that I can't really place at this time. But they've transformed into a look that makes them cold and narrow in warning. I cower into Sadie a little at the sudden change in his expression, trying to not feel afraid but not being able to help it as the emotion courses through me.

It's not until I nearly stagger into someone and Sadie calls out for me to pay attention that I manage to turn away from his cool stare.

* * *

><p>Three hours later and Sadie and I are trekking to lunch. My pants leg has dried, my head was patched up with some Aleve that my mother had worriedly brought up to the school, and I hadn't seen Caramel-Eyed-Boy anywhere, nor his friend, I-Think-Jared.<p>

Despite the horrible start to this school day, it had turned out to be quite decent so far.

During second period, Jonah Lachlan had leaned over to ask me what happened to my head and I think he was really worried. That's what Sadie said, anyway, when I gave her a play-by-play while we were in English together an hour later.

Then, Jacob and Quil had offered to help me roll I-Think-Jared's and Caramel-Eyed-Boy's yards in order to get revenge (but we were shut down by Sadie exclaiming that the whole thing was an accident and that she didn't want us ruining her chances with the 'hottest boys in the whole school').

Now Sadie and I are heading to the cafeteria to take advantage of our lunch period, lost in the throng of other students who also have lunch this period. I'm crossing my fingers in good faith that the line won't be too long because I'm starving and I want to get the good green jello before someone else does.

"I hope we're having soup," Sadie grumbles as we huddle together and jog through the brief period of rain that we're exposed to thanks to the unsheltered part of the walkway we have to take. "I need something warm right now."

"Sadie, that stuff they serve isn't soup. It's mush," I scoff.

It's true; our cafeteria food is just as bad as any other high school in the country, maybe even worse because we were a lowly reservation school and came in dead last to the other high schools in our area, which meant that we got the sloppy leftovers that no other wanted. Sometimes I wasn't even sure if what they slapped down on our trays could be considered as food and not as science experiments that the small Biology department would love to study.

"I don't care. If you add enough salt to it, it tastes fine. And I think Quil still has some hot sauce."

"Quil still has what?" comes a voice from behind us.

A form barrels into us, just catching my shoulder as I skip over my feet, and snickers into my ear. I send them a glare, only easing up when I notice it's the hot sauce holder himself.

He sends me a wink and settles with his arm around Sadie, the latter not seeming to mind Quil being so close to her.

"Herpes, Quil, that's what you still have," says Jacob.

He appears on my left and I laugh as he sends us all a big smile. We crowd together on the walkway as the two continue with us to the lunchroom, taking up most of the space and forgetting about the light trickle of rain that was dribbling down.

"That's so funny, Jake," Quil mocks. "Ha, ha, ha. You should be a comedian."

"That's what I've been telling him!" I exclaim.

Jacob laughs heartily at that, clapping me on the back as Quil rolls his eyes. Sadie, too, is cackling with laughter and I notice how Quil just smiles rather adoringly down at her.

Their relationship is something that Jacob, Embry, and I had all speculated about but never come right out and asked after because both of them were rather shy when it came to crushes on the opposite sex. Of course, when we were alone, I'd always try to get Sadie to confess that she liked our friend as something more but she'd always just turn really red and tell me to shut-up.

"Quil, do you still have some hot sauce? We're probably going to need it for lunch," asks Sadie.

"Jake tipped it all into Mr. Lawrence's drink last period. Sorry, Sade. But, _hey_! I might have some soy sauce somewhere."

I snicker at that. "Jesus, Quil. You got a pizza slice lying around in your locker too?"

"I might," he shrugs. "I think I brought one to school last semester and… Well, I don't know what happened to it."

"That's disgusting, man," cringes Jacob.

"You'd still eat it and you know it," says Quil.

Jacob concedes with a shrug of his shoulders and a big smile that he shines down at me and Sadie when we let out a whined sound that vocalizes just how gross that really is.

"You'd eat it too, Blair. Don't try to deny it!" he chuckles.

"No, I would not! That's just… You could get some kind of disease from that, Jake!"

"He's already got a disease," snickers Quil. "Go ask Hannah Elliot who gave the clap to her and see what she says."

I stare over at Jake in horror for a split second before he rolls his eyes and yanks Quil away from Sadie. He stuffs our friend underneath his arm while furiously rubbing his fist through Quil's black hair.

"That's so gross, man! The clap? _Really_? And I never did anything with Hannah but kiss her _one_ time!" exclaims Jacob.

We fall into the cafeteria like that, with Jake wrangling Quil underneath his arm while Sadie and I chortle at their behavior.

People are lined up to get trays and we take a spot near the back (crossing my fingers didn't work at all!), behind three tall figures that stop me from being able to peak up ahead in order to see what we were having today.

I don't realize that two of them are I-Think-Jared and Caramel-Eyed-Boy until Sadie is clearing herself a way around them. She blushes so red that I know it can't be anyone else but them.

"Hey there," says I-Think-Jared to her.

Quil and Jacob stop rough-housing at the sound of his voice, fixing their clothes and sweeping their long hair over their shoulders as they peer at the two imposing figures.

I'd told my friends about the little run-in Sadie and I had with the two of them this morning, so I expect this not to go well, even if Jacob and Quil are marginally shorter and smaller than the two Uley Gang boys.

Taking a few steps forward, Quil grabs ahold of Sadie's elbow and tows her back to our group, sending I-Think-Jared a glare as he does. This causes both him, Caramel-Eyed-Boy and the other tall figure who'd been standing with them to turn, and the first where's a grin that seems to nearly burst from his face while the second appears to still be sulking like he was when I left him this morning. The very last one, though, looks slightly aghast as he faces us.

My eyes widen as I take in Embry. He's like a carbon copy of the other two and if it weren't for his light brown eyes then I don't think I'd be able to differentiate very well between him and Jared (because, no matter how hard I wished I couldn't, somehow I could expertly pinpoint Caramel-Eyed-Boy).

"I'm Jared and this is Paul," comes I-Think-Jared—I mean Jared. "You guys know Embry."

"Nah," starts Jacob. "not anymore we don't."

And with that, he lets some people who'd been waiting behind us to go ahead, putting at least five or six freshmen in between us and the Uley Gang.

Embry looks hurt by this and when he turns his gaze onto me, I am at a loss as to what to do.

For weeks he hadn't been to school or even picked up the phone when any of us called. He'd been so sick that even his mother was worried, having phoned us all separately and asked if he'd started doing drugs or drinking. And so, as he stares helplessly over at me, like he's begging for one of us to try and smooth things over with him, I can't do anything but hang back with Sadie as Quil and Jacob take a stance in front of us.

There's another person staring at me too, I notice when Embry eventually turns, and it's even more numbing than my old friends look. Paul is regarding me in a way that makes no sense: his eyes are flashing between a series of emotions that makes Jared clap his hand onto his shoulder and pat it a few times before urging him to turn around with him. Paul does, but not before sweeping me with a look that dusts away the emotionless feeling I'd previously been coated in and overrides it with one of heat.

It's just heat that I feel for a second—nothing else, just heat. The hot, fiery sensation is eating me up from the tips of my toes to the top of my head and I know that I'm blushing fiercely now.

I scowl before scooting up farther in line, set on pushing all thoughts of Paul and the rest of the Uley Gang (including its new initiate) out of my mind.

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><p><span><strong>Authors<strong>** Note:** _This is a new story that I'm really excited about! I love Paul and I think he's so freakin' hot, so it only made sense for me to write a fanfic about him. However, I've got a Jacob fic in the works too, but it's in the very early stages of being rewritten and heavily edited, so you won't see it for quite a while (if at all)._

_I've already gotten four or so chapters written and edited (all except the fourth one), so their should be steady updates. And... I hope you all enjoy! _


	2. two

_**"I turn around and you're creeping in..."**_

_Ghost; Ella Henderson_

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><p>The end of the school day is met with the same weather as the beginning of it: cloudy and raining. I avoid the puddles and huddle into my sweater as I trudge through the parking lot, tightly clasping the keys of my car in my hand as I go.<p>

There aren't many people left, I notice, most having gotten in the long line of vehicles that was now stretching around the school building. But across the street, parked in the other lot that they had to be added two years ago, is who I think to be Embry and Jared. I don't see Paul anywhere and though I'm relieved, at the same time I feel disappointed.

This realization alarms me and I scowl at myself.

_He nearly knocked you out_, I think. _He stole one of your best friends!_

"You've got a flat tire."

The voice startles me out of my thoughts and I jump as a loud gasp mixed with a yelp slips out of my mouth. My wide eyes upturn to meet those of chocolate gold and the warmth I'm ashamed to say that I find comfortable has started to funnel over me almost immediately.

He hadn't been standing over with his friend (and other new friend) because he'd seemingly been waiting for me.

It's creepy, I decide, and I wonder if it's just a coincidence that I have a flat tire when Paul was waiting around near my car.

"I do?" I ask, my tone a lot softer than I wanted.

Scowling inwardly at myself again, I hurry over to the back left tire that he was now indicating towards. It is indeed flat, unfortunately, I notice. _Fuck_.

I hang my head and sigh. I don't think I have a spare in my trunk, not to mention that my mother was at work and I was expected to pick up Cora, my little sister, from daycare in thirty minutes.

Grumbling, I storm past Paul and unlock the driver's door before throwing my backpack into the backseat. My cellphone is resting in the console, I see, and I pick up, deciding that I'll call Jacob because he's got to have a tire lying around that will fit my car.

As I'm scrolling through the contacts, looking for his name, I feel Paul lumber up from behind me. That familiar heat wraps around me again, but this time I frown because now I don't know if he's not really as weird and off-center as Quil is always claiming.

"Do you need help changing it?"

I shake my head, keeping my back to him, and nod down towards my phone. "Uh, no. I don't have a spare. I'm just gonna call someone."

"I could give you a ride," he offers, tone a little lighter.

Glancing back at him, I notice that there might be a little bit of dark grey or maybe even opaque black swirled around in his honey eyes—then jump back in order to put more distance between us because I do not want to think about how pretty his eyes are anymore.

"That's alright," I say. "I'm just gonna call a friend. Thanks, though."

"Hey, man! Jared said that Sam—_Oh_, hey, Blair."

It's Embry and he'd jogged over before perching himself on Paul's left. He's hanging off his new friend in a way that he used to do with Jake or Quil, and it makes me glare up at him.

I ignore his greeting and instead turn my attention back to my phone, scrolling faster because two large Uley Gang members are a little too much for me. They were starting to make me nervous, frightened even, and I didn't want to be alone with them anymore.

"You got a flat tire, Blair? Paul could give you a ride, you know… If you didn't want to wait. He's just parked over there," speaks up Embry again.

His voice is not at all like it used to be, so light and happy. Now it's smooth and way too deep for it to be my old friend speaking. Secretly, I wonder if its cigarette's or actually some kind of drug that he's inhaling making his voice like this now. _If his mother found, she'd slaughter him_, I think.

"She already said no," grits out Paul.

"Oh. Well, that's cool. You gonna call Jacob? I think he might have a tire."

I don't know why he's doing this, trying to act so friendly—like he didn't avoid us all and lie to everyone (even his mother!). It makes me even angrier at him and I'm not able to get a good wrangle on the fiery emotion like I usually am able to do because I'm already too overwhelmed by my flat tire, figuring out how to pick Cora up on time, and Paul.

"Would you just stop?" I exclaim, my head snapping over to where Embry is still perched on Paul's shoulder. "Stop being nice! Stop trying to pretend like you haven't been an asshole! Just…," I inhale, sighing after I swallow down some of the anger. "Leave me alone."

I grumble the last part and, after turning back around, finally find Jake's name, selecting it before bringing my phone up to my ear. Vaguely do I hear as the two of them shuffle away and I sigh in relief, glancing over my shoulder again to make sure they were, indeed, leaving.

Paul is trekking away with the aid of Embry, but he is going back over to Jared, thank God. I don't know which one is worse: the lying-fuck-you-we're-not-friends-anymore Embry or I'm-hot-and-I-might-have-flattened-your-tire Paul.

When I eventually reach Jake, he tells me that he's going to look around for a tire because he's not one hundred percent sure if the one he's thinking about will work, but is going to send over Quil, as he doesn't like the idea of me waiting by myself with the Uley Gang lumbering around. I thank him and beg him to tell Quil to hurry; he hangs up with the promise to knock our friend over the head if he doesn't.

Next, I call my mom, having to wait one or two minutes as the call is passed through hospital floors, and explain the situation to her. I have to lie to her when she asks if there is anyone around that I can bum a ride from because I'm not sure if she'd suggest I ask Embry or not (she wouldn't dare get me to ask Paul or Jared; she knows about their new 'gang').

She tells me that she'll call the daycare to inform them that I'll be late and asks that I call her after I get everything taken care of. I vehemently tell her I will and click off before dropping my cell phone back into the console.

Now I have to wait and when I glance over to the parking lot across the empty road to find that Paul is staring at me over the top of his truck, I decide that I'll wait in my car. I slam the door closed, locking it before deciding that I'll do the same to all the other doors, and huddle further into my sweater because the temperature is dropping again.

I entertain myself by clicking through pictures on my phone and playing games while glancing between the screen of the device and over to where the three Uley Gang members are still lingering. I think I see Kim Arlo over with them at some point, wrapped up in Jared's arms, but don't stare long enough to determine if that is really the girl that had joined them.

Quil does show up fast, right as I'd begun to wonder if I should start walking to Jacob's. He taps on the glass of my window at the same time that I'm opening the door and he jumps back with a bark of a laugh that just makes the relieved smile on my face bigger. I throw my arms around him, hugging his taller form tightly.

"Thank God," I murmur as we pull back. "I was scared out of my mind!"

Turning at my words, Quil looks over to the parking lot where Paul and Jared are still parked. Paul isn't staring anymore but it looks like he's getting into an argument with Embry, if his violent and sharp hand gestures are anything to go by. It looks like Jared is sitting this one out, resting on the back of his open tailgate with the girl who I definitely now know to be Kim Arlo.

"They bother you a lot, Blair?" he asks while glaring over at the group.

"No," I say. "They're just scary, ya know? Paul was the one who pointed out that I had a flat tire and he came outta _nowhere_, Quil!"

"You think he did it?"

I shrug. "I dunno."

Quil sighs and pats my shoulder a few times before tugging me into his side. He slings his arm over me and starts to ease me over to his car.

"Let's pick up Cora. Jake should have the tire found by then," he says.

I nod and let him tow me over to the passenger side, sliding in when he opens the door. He slams it closed before trudging over to the driver's side.

The group across the way is still arguing when he starts up the vehicle, but the sound of the engine seems to snap them out of their heated debate. Paul glances over first and then Embry does as well. I peer at the first a little longer than I should and so I don't manage to catch the finger Quil has slung up at them till it's too late.

Gasping, I slap his shoulder, quickly sending one more glance over to the Uley Gang to see if either of them are running over now to beat the shit out of my friend. But they just stare, Jared and Paul a little more heatedly than Embry. None of them make a move to smash Quil's face in, though.

"Jesus Christ, Quil!" I exclaim as we pull out and head in the direction of Cora's daycare. "Do you wanna get your ass beat?"

My friend scoffs. "I could take those assholes. I got a bat in the back, Blair. They wouldn't stand a chance."

"Are you blind? They're three times bigger than you are!"

"On steroids, all three of 'em," he says. "I can't believe Em joined up with them… After he called them all juice heads and said if they ever asked them to be in his gang that he'd tell 'em all to go to hell…"

"I know, but you can't fight him, Quil. It'd just make things worse," I say softly.

He just rolls his eyes and nods a little, though I can tell he doesn't agree with me.

We spend the seven minutes it takes us to get to Patches and Peaches Daycare Center chatting about homework, my flat tire, and anything that doesn't involve the Uley Gang. I even throw in a few wondering questions about Sadie and if Quil might ask her to the dance coming up in a week or two. This makes him blush while calling for me to talk about something else; I just laugh and reach over to poke his side.

Cora comes out rather quickly when we get to the daycare center and is smiling already but when she spies Quil, she grins so big that I can't help but chuckle.

"Barney!" she exclaims happily.

His nickname was not one made up, _oh no_. Quil just so happens to do the best impression of Barney around and always gives in to Cora when she requests that he do it. I can't really remember when she made the switch from calling him his real name to the one of this fictional character, but Quil has never minded, not even when Jacob rags on him about it sometimes.

"Hey there, Cora! What's my favorite girl up to?" he laughs as she latches onto his leg.

Quil jostles her up into his arms before we start for his car.

We'd forgotten the car seat that always sat in the back of my car, but we were only going a little ways up the road and there was hardly any traffic.

Buckling her into the back after Quil had deposited her there, I peck her forehead and take the painting that she'd made for Jacob.

"Will Bubba be there, Sissy?" she asks once we're on the road again.

Quil chuckles and tosses me an amused look. Though he may be 'Barney', Jacob was 'Bubba'. She has a name for Embry too, but it's been so long since she's seen him that I can't recall it.

"Maybe, sweet tart. Have to see," I respond.

She babbles on about the art sector of her day and how a kid named Benny stole one of her orange blocks during playtime. Quil pretends to be scandalized at that time, which makes Cora erupt into a round of laughter so cute that I have to laugh too.

My friends' whole car is filled up with laughter when we finally pull back into the school parking lot and I guess we're louder than I thought because when I spy Jake, he's smiling over at Quil's car.

"Sweet tart!" he calls out to Cora.

She squeals and starts to wiggle furiously underneath her seatbelt. When I tell her to wait for me to let her out, she lets out a loud '_Bubba!_' that has Jacob laughing.

As she goes careening out after I manage to wrangle her from the seatbelt, I just remember the Uley Gang that had been in the lot across the road. Glancing over there, I find that only Paul and Embry are left. The first is looking over and I don't know if he ever stopped or if Cora's loud calls are what drove his attention back over here.

I don't realize that the two of them are starting over here until Cora calls out to Embry, calling him 'Emmy' as he and Paul lope across the road. When she goes careening towards them, I nearly faint on the spot.

Quil and I are calling out to her, with Jacob joining in after he's stopped trying to take off my flat tire, but we're too late. Cora plants herself directly in their path, halting them before both kneel down to her level.

I nearly fall over when Paul reaches out a hand to ruffle her hair.

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><p><span><strong>Authors<strong>** Note:** _Hello all! I just wanted to thank the few lovely people who left reviews, along with the multitude of others who have followed and/or favorited this story. I really appreciate it and am so glad that you lot like my story! **Also, check out my profile to see the face claim for Blair!**_**  
><strong>

_Now, I just have a few notes:_

_1. This is going to be a slow build story, meaning that Paul and Blair's relationship is going to develop at a slow, believable pace (I hope). _

_2. The chapters are always going to be long. _

_3. I'm going to update this story every **T****uesday**._

_4. I just wanted to point out a little fact (and it may debunk point number one, but oh well): Blair never calls Paul's eyes just plain ol' brown, like she does the others. She always refers to them as golden or honey or cider colored and I've written this on purpose. **Can anyone tell me why she does this?** :]_

_And... I think that's it! I hope you enjoy this update and please let me know what you think! _


	3. three

_**"You've got me in chains..."**_

_Chains; Nick Jonas_

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><p>"Hey, Cora!" calls Embry happily.<p>

He grins as Paul's large body shakes with quiet laughter. Cora, meanwhile, is squealing loudly and clapping her hands together energetically, seemingly deaf to the loud calls that Jacob, Quil, and I are shouting out to her.

With my heart hammering in my chest and my brain whirling with too many gruesome images (which mostly consist of Embry and Paul offering my little sister some drugs or laced candy) to work properly, I sprint over to where the three are.

"Cora!" I hiss, bending down to scoop her up.

I glare heatedly at Embry, curling my lip back, and mean to do it at Paul too, but he's peering up at me from where he's still hunkered down near the ground with eyes that are too big and glittering. They disarm me for a second or two, the only reason the moment didn't go on any longer being because of Jacob loudly exclaiming for him to get away from Cora and I.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, huh?" comes Quil, who appears on my left.

"Quil!" I grumble at the sound of his curse, nodding down to Cora when he snaps his head over to glance at me.

He sighs, but deflates a little, patting Cora's back a few times before setting his gaze over to Paul and Embry once more.

"Come on, Blair. I almost got your tire changed," murmurs Jacob from behind me.

He grips my elbow gently and tows me back into his chest before easing a hand onto the small of my back in order to turn me away from Paul and Embry. Jacob pauses, though, at the sound of our old friend's voice.

"Hey, you need any help, Jake?" asks Embry. "Paul and I could—"

"No, he doesn't need your help, dickwad," snaps Quil.

I see the hurt flash through Embry's eyes and it makes me sad—makes me feel guilty for yelling at him earlier and for how hostile Quil is being. But I can't manage to make myself defend him because, in a way, I felt that he deserved every bit of it.

He'd left us with no kind of explanation to join a group of people who'd gained one of the most terrible reputations on the entire reservation. No excuse, no apologies… He'd just left us behind like we were nothing.

Jacob eases me around and we start for my car, ignoring Embry.

"Emmy!" Cora happily calls.

I sigh, shushing her quietly while reaching back to grab a hold of Quil's hand. "No, sweet tart. Leave him alone, okay?"

"Yea," snorts Quil, who was reluctantly following beside me now. "Emmy a fu—"

"Quil!" Jacob hisses, slapping our friend upside the head. When he motions down to Cora, Quil blushes.

"Sorry," he murmurs. "But can you believe him? He's acting like nothing happened!"

By now, we've returned back to my car and Jacob has set to work on getting the flat tire off again.

I sit Cora on her feet but don't let go of her hand until Quil takes a seat on the cold pavement of the parking lot and starts to play patty cake with her. She becomes giddy once again at the attention, calling out '_Barney!_' quite happily as the two play.

"I know," sighs Jacob. "I don't get it either. But let's just forget about him."

Quil lets out a grunt, but says nothing else, just focuses on Cora and getting the hand movements of their little game right.

I, however, can't resist glancing over to see if either Paul or Embry are still bowed down in their places. I find them to be arguing again, I think, back over on the other side of the road with their cars. It looks like Paul is saying something harshly to Embry, I realize after a second look, and that my old friend is just staring at his feet.

I feel sad again at knowing that he's being berated for something, but, for a second time, don't feel a lot of will to defend him.

Sighing, I turn back to Jacob, Quil, and Cora, leaning over to the first when I find that my little sister and other friend are still mixed up in their game of patty cake.

"Thanks, Jake," I murmur after crouching down beside him. "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come to help me."

He chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Get your mom to cook me some of those little cake things she makes and we'll be even."

"Hey! I want some too!" whines Quil.

I laugh loudly at that, which makes Cora squeal in delight and she, in turn, makes the boys grin brightly.

And though I know that the people across the road are never going to disappear and Quil, Jacob, and I were going to have to deal with Embry's choice of leaving us, right at this moment I felt that everything would be okay.

We had each other. We'd make it. I was sure of it.

* * *

><p>A few days later and things have grown… <em>weird<em>.

Everything is upturned and resting on its head, making me uncomfortable and on edge. I ask Sadie if anything seems out of sort to her, but she just frowns at me, her eyes narrowing in worry.

"Did you get enough sleep last night, Blair?" she asks me.

I sigh and turn back to glancing around the cafeteria, craning my head up so I can sweep the large room with a good look. Taking my time, I scan over almost every inch of space, (I spy Jake and Quil as they rove through the line to get food and annoyingly note that they got the good, green jello) looking for something that I can't quite place my finger on.

It's not till I get to the table that rests in a far back corner that I horrifyingly realize what I am doing. _I was looking for Paul_.

Furrowing my brows, I shrink down in my seat, embarrassed and, if I'm being honest, a little ashamed of myself. But my brain still won't work right and I feel off kilter somehow, like there was something… _missing_.

I'm in such deep thought that I don't even realize that Quil has snagged me some green jello too, and that garners the attention of my table mates.

Sadie nudges me with her shoulder gently, but I nearly teeter off my seat. Jacob is peering at me a little worriedly as Quil just snickers in the midst of eating his burger.

"You alright, Blair?" Sadie asks.

I clear my throat and nod. "Yea, M' fine." Grabbing my fork, I stab it into the gelatin, preening a little inside as I finally take in the green goodness. "Thanks Quil!"

"Welcome," he says, nearly spraying Sadie with his spit and some burger crumbs.

"You're disgusting, Quil," she grimaces, throwing some napkins she'd gotten at him.

He only laughs and takes them, sending her a wink that makes a pink blush and a shy smile take over Sadie's face.

When I glance over to Jacob, he's chuckling. He catches my eye, then rolls his while jerking his head in Quil's direction. I nod, laughing under my breath too at our friends.

Honestly, it as a damn shame that the two of them were so shy. They'd be so cute together (they were already adorable and they weren't even together yet!) if one of them would just get enough nerve up to make the first move. I sigh inwardly as I realize that waiting for that is like waiting to get an A in math class.

"Hey, anyone realize that Paul isn't here today?" pipes up Quil. (This time his mouth is free of any food.)

"He hasn't been here for a couple of days, has he?" asks Jacob.

I sink lower in my seat at the mention of Paul, cheeks heating up as I remember how I'd searched for him only moments ago, and take a big bite of jello.

"Neither has Embry," quietly murmurs Sadie.

My head snaps over to her at catching her tone and I frown sadly when I take in her expression. She looks so blue at Embry's absence that it makes my chest clench painfully.

I pat her back gently and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear as she raises her head to glance over at us all.

"Good! Stupid asshole can fall off a cliff as far as I'm concerned," snarls Quil.

"Don't say that!" cries Sadie. "He's still our best friend!"

Quil frowns deeply at seeing Sadie's sad face and mumbles an apology quietly to her.

When he outstretches his hand to clasp over hers, my mouth falls open and I furiously begin to kick Jacob underneath the table, hoping he was seeing this too. Quil gives hers' a few squeezes, then clears his throat before retracting it back and bends his head low over his plate.

"Anyway…" starts Jacob. When I glance over to him, he signals for me to close my mouth, his eyes darting over to our two other friends. "I think we should go down to First Beach this afternoon. Heard there were supposed to be some good swells rolling in."

I peak over at Sadie as Quil lets out a loud whoop of excitement at Jacob's plan (after snapping my mouth shut) and smile widely when I notice her tinted cheeks. She's smiling too, but trying to conceal it by chewing a French fry.

"You in, Blair?"

Nodding and snapping my head around to peer at Jacob and Quil, I tell them I'll go but won't surf, which earns me some groans and calls about being a chicken. But when Sadie says she isn't going to surf either, Jacob is the only one left teasing us; Quil grows silent and tries to send another wink over at her (which he doesn't manage to hide very well).

We finish lunch just as we'd finalized our plans for the following evening and stand to dump our trays in order to prepare to head to our individual classes.

I had Garner for History, which sent me into a whole different direction than my friends.

Waving to them when we part ways at the cafeterias entrance, I shrug the heavy books I'd brought to lunch with me up in arms, trying to get a good wrangle on them. There are too many (I had developed the genius idea to carry both my History and Biology book because I thought it would save time in between classes), though, and I can't grip the folders resting underneath too securely.

When the two plastic binders go tumbling down onto the damp pavement of the walkway, I sigh, grumbling a curse word.

The papers inside them had nearly ripped out and were now hanging sideways, getting a little soggy as the rain leftover from a shower that had blown through earlier licks them hungrily.

I bend down to collect them, hoping that my work wouldn't be lost, and am suprised when a big hand shoots out in order to pick a few stray pieces of paper that had been completely yanked out.

My head snaps up and immediately do I recognize the canary and cider colored orbs that are peering back at me. I get lost in them almost as soon as I find them, the familiar warmth wrapping around me as I sink further and further into his gaze.

"Hi," Paul mumbles, tone soft and low. "Here you go."

The sound of his deep voice draws my attention to his lips, but the movements of his golden eyes draw my gaze back up to them a second later. I notice that he's traced where they'd flickered and feel as my orbs widen in embarrassment.

Quickly, I clear my throat and try to avoid my eyes somewhere else. There is a strong pull, though, that tries to anchor them back up to his. I just manage to resist the urge as a fresh wave of blush crowds itself heatedly on my face.

I snatch my paper out of his hand when I realize he's still holding it out to me, gather my books and binders, and sling my bag over my shoulder. For some reason, though, I don't swerve around Paul and launch myself down the hallway.

It's as if I physically can't walk away from him and I try to ignore when my brain dubs that a result of him being gone from school for three days.

I shift the strap of my bag higher up on my shoulder, shyly glancing up at him.

He's still looking at me and when I peek at his face from underneath my lashes, he doesn't appear to become as flustered as I would (and currently am) at being caught looking. He remains unwavering in his gaze; it unnerves me a little, unsettles me as I awkwardly shuffle my feet in front of his large stature.

The silence is a little suffocating and so I say the first thing that comes to my mind because I'm desperate.

"Where've you been?"

I expect Paul to sneer at me and spit something vile because I knew that to be something he'd probably do. But, to my surprise, he doesn't. Instead, the corners of his mouth quirk up and his eyes take on a sheen of what I think to be slight delight.

It's far too cold to be anything remarkable, but the way the emotion warms the dark honey of his irises makes me sigh quietly.

"Just been busy," he murmurs.

And immediately I want to ask what he was busy doing, but manage to catch these words before they slip out.

"Oh," I say instead.

He smiles a little bit more now. "That tire Jacob got you still doing good?"

"Oh, yea, yea—it's doing great."

He nods his head, a brief smile slipping onto his dark stained lips, and anchors his big hands into the pockets of the jeans he was wearing.

The action draws my attention lower than his face (something I realize had never happened in the few times I'd been in his presence), the keen observing I do helping me to pick up the way the muscles of his biceps bulge against the bronze colored skin that covers his exquisite body. I notice, too, that his long fingers and wide wrists barely fit in the material of the pockets, having to swallow thickly at this because another brand new kind of heat was washing through my system now (and this was settling low in my stomach).

_Jesus…_

When my eyes flick back up, I find that Paul had been watching me the entire time and my cheeks flame once more in embarrassment. Self-consciously, I clear my throat for the umpteenth time and shuffle back a few steps.

"Well—" he starts.

"I have to get to class," I interrupt, side stepping him.

I don't look back as I hurry down the hallway, knowing that if I did I'd probably be stopped by his gaze. Instead, I face forward and try to shove images of his big hands and warm skin out of my mind, replacing the mental pictures with the History homework that I wasn't sure whether or not I did.

That effort lasts me until I get into the classroom, sweep past Mr. Garner (who regards me with a tired expression at my lateness), and settle into my seat in the middle of the room. It's then that I get lost, as my teach drones on about a war or something, and horrifyingly come to realize that Paul Lahote had infested himself into my mind somehow.

He'd riddled himself into the thoughts that, before, had been full of Jonas Lachlan and managed to push through all the barriers that my apprehension to him and his 'gang' had instilled in me. I don't even know how it happened, but it makes me angry at myself.

They were bad—_he _was bad!

Together, Paul and the rest of the Uley Gang traipsed around the reservation without shirts and other proper clothing, corrupting unsuspecting boys who probably had something promising waiting for them at home before the dark Uley boys sashayed into their lives with honey words. And everyone knew how awful they were… Or, at least, everyone assumed they knew how bad they were.

As I sit in my third period History class, sat in the middle row with my book open and my eyes blind to the black words printed on the pages there, I realize that I didn't actually know if Paul and the rest of his new friends were actually in a gang. It was just something that everyone automatically thought because he, along with Jared and Sam, had pretty much cut off all contact with anyone else but the two others, secluding themselves for some unknown reason. And they were always dressed funny. Hardly any of them were ever wearing proper clothing, except for when Jared or Paul attended school; Sam, however, I hadn't seen much of, but when I did, he was only wearing a pair of jean cutoffs.

Mr. Garner interrupts my thoughts by asking for my homework from yesterday and I shuffle around with my cheeks tinting for the umpteenth time today. I draw out some random papers that I quickly search over before handing them to him. He grunts at me as he takes them, but says nothing, moving on to the person who sat behind me.

I sigh, suddenly exhausted and frustrated at my train of thought.

Paul Lahote was seemingly embedding himself in my brain and it was starting to severely worry me.

_What in the hell was happening?_

* * *

><p><span><strong>Authors Note:<strong>_Hello lovelies! How did you like this chapter? I hope you enjoyed it a lot, particularly the Paul/Blair parts. c: Also, I really hope that you're able to see how the imprint is working. We don't really get that much of a perspective from the imprintee in the books, but I think it's interesting to see how it really does affect them. _

_Anyway... Let me know what you think! Tell me your thoughts on what will happen between Blair and Paul in upcoming chapters! c:_


	4. four

_"Acting on your best behavior.."_

_{ {_**_ Everybody Wants to Rule the World; Lorde _**_} }_

* * *

><p>It's far too cold to be surfing, in my opinion.<p>

The sun has already started to dip below the tree line that encroaches on either side of First Beach, taking with it the warmth and light that allows people to inhabit this small stretch of sand and sea. My wetsuit doesn't provide much heat and the water I currently have my ankles dangling in wasn't exposed to enough of the sun's dank brightness today.

A chill has started to eats its way up my calf; it feels like ice cold fingers have wrapped around the bone there and are continuously raking their hard fingernails up my calf muscle.

"Jake, man, I thought you said there were gonna be good swells!" whines Quil from beside me.

He and I are currently waiting beside Jacob in the water, far out from the shore, where Sadie is probably eating all the Skittles we all bought, searching the horizon for an incoming of swollen water. We've been sitting on our boards for probably five minutes now, though, and the only thing I've seen roaring across the water was a few sticks and some seaweed.

"You've got no patience, Quil," sighs Jacob. "They're coming! Give 'em two more minutes."

"I think I'm getting frostbite," I mumble.

"You'll get hypothermia first, Blair, so don't start worrying until you can't feel your toes," snickers Jake.

I scowl at him. "My feet are getting so cold that they're going numb, is the point. Two more minutes and they'll have to be amputated!"

He just laughs while Quil starts to paddle himself around in a circle. I, meanwhile, regret letting myself get talked into this (because I had been dead set against getting in this frigid water earlier in the day) and wish I was up on the beach with Sadie, eating the rest of the candy.

"We've been waiting this long," speaks up Jacob again. "Mine as well catch a good wave. It would be a waste if we didn't."

I grumble something garbled at him under my breath but agree that it would be a wasted effort if I was to paddle back now. Quil seems to settle with Jake's words too because he takes his place beside me again.

"I want to go see that new zombie movie."

"Which one?" I ask Quil.

"I think it's called _Dead End_ or something like that. I heard it was supposed to be badass!"

"It sounds gross," I cringe.

"Blair, you—"

"Awe, _shit_!" interrupts Jacob.

Turning to him, I frown, curious to why he'd interrupted Quil. He's not looking at either of us, though; his gaze is locked behind us, seemingly on the stretch of beach that rested a good few breaststrokes in the opposite direction that I was facing. It's not until I look over my shoulder that I realize while my friend had muttered the expletive.

Paul, Jared, Embry, and Sam Uley are walking out from the tree line that rests to the left of where Sadie is wrapped in a blanket and sitting on a piece of driftwood.

"Goddamn it! Jake, did you invite him?" hisses Quil, who yanks his head around to peer at the boy he mentioned.

"Like hell, man!" scoffs Jacob. "I don't wanna see that asshole any more than you do."

"Why are they _always_ around lately?" I wonder aloud.

"I dunno but I'm getting' fuckin' sick of it!"

I ignore Quil's acid-like speech and stretch my neck so I can get a better view of the four people who were growing closer and closer to the only remaining person on First Beach.

Honestly, I'm a little afraid of what they'll do. I don't know if either of the four Uley Boys will spot the three of us out in the water and stray away from Sadie, or completely disregard our appearances because all of us are so far away from her.

"Maybe we should start paddling in," murmurs Jacob.

"They better not even speak to Sadie!" spits Quil. "_Pricks_… Why won't they leave us the fuck alone?"

My friend has never cursed so violently and so I know that the fact that he's out here with Jacob and I while Sadie rests all by herself on the beach as four burly (and possibly dangerous) boys lumber closer and closer to her is setting him on edge. And I have to be honest: it's got my nerves fraying a little as well.

Hurriedly, Jacob, Quil, and I start to paddle towards the shore, all the while I keep my eyes trained on where I can see my friend sitting.

We're nearly halfway in before Sadie spots us and throws her hand up in greeting, cheerily calling out that she saved me all the red skittles. I don't realize that she hasn't spotted the Uley Boys till Quil yells out for her to meet us at the shoreline.

"What?" she hollers.

"Meet us at the goddamned shoreline, Sadie!" he screeches again.

"Calm down, man. They're not going to do nothin' to her when we're all so close," says Jacob.

"I don't care, Jake! I don't even want them near her!"

I don't either, I decide. They're all unpredictable and I'm still not sure if it really was Paul who flattened my tire (though, when I think this, a voice in the back of my head chides me quite harshly for it because I _do_ know if he did it or not).

Sadie does, indeed, meet us at the shoreline, clutching the big bag of skittles while she keeps warm in one of the blankets I'd brought along. She wears a slightly wide-eyed expression, I notice as I finally dig my toes into the rather hard sand of the beach, and I know now that she's finally seen the Uley gang.

"Saved you and Jake the purple and yellow skittles, Quil," she smiles faintly, her cheeks reddening a little.

"Thanks," he grumbles, tone a little softer than when he was in the water with Jacob and I. "C'mere."

Quil tosses a wet arm over her shoulders and begins to run a hand up and down her arm. He's pretending to try and warm her up, but I know he's really just trying to put himself between her and the Uley Boys, who've now grown way too close for comfort.

Paul, Embry, Jared, and Sam have sat down just a few feet from where the piece of driftwood Sadie was sitting on is resting. Our towels are there, along with some extra blankets, and I begrudgingly realize that my teal colored one is almost directly by Embry.

I want to move farther down the beach so we can put some distance between us and them, but I know neither Jacob nor Quil will go for that. My two male best friends would say it's a matter of standing your ground and I would just be wasting my breath to suggest the idea. So, sighing loudly and hoping I sound quite annoyed, I trek over to Embry, throwing down my surfboard in the process.

To my surprise, Embry doesn't throw up a hand in a warm greeting or even say anything to me. My old friend just regards me with a rather harsh side-eye glare that has me rolling my orbs. I snatch up my towel so hard that I hope the violent action flicked some sand into his lap.

Hunkering down beside Jacob, I wrap up in my towel, shining a thankful grin up at my friend when he wraps me up in a handmade quilt that he'd brought on the beach trip. Once I've got the right side of the blanket wrapped around my chilled body, he shakes out a few red skittles and winks at me when I pop them all into my mouth.

"Good," I garble while pointing to my mouth.

"Jeez, Blair," giggles Sadie. "You're worse than Quil!"

"Yea, right! That maniac will be eating two burgers at the same time and try to hold a conversation with you too!" crows Jacob, letting out a louder laugh.

Quil snickers, leaning into Sadie so he can see Jake from where he sits on the opposite side of her. "I'm talented, bro. Don't hate 'cause you ain't got skills like me!"

I sigh in a little bit of relief as conversation picks up, nudging myself closer to Jacob when I start to shiver a little bit and eating more skittles. Sometimes I join in with my friends but for the most part, I enjoy the candy Sadie saved for me and try to ignore how hard my heart is pounding at knowing that _He_ is sitting just a few feet to the right of me.

"Hey, Blair," calls Quil, saving me from almost glancing over at him. "You're hogging all the skittles! Gimme! _Gimme_!"

He reaches a hand out for me to sprinkle some into them, but Sadie slaps it away.

"Nu uh," she says. "Those are Blair's."

"But Sade—" Quil starts to whine.

"I saved you the yellow ones, Quilly," she chuckles, dumping said candy into the hand he'd let drop in her lap.

I nearly choke on the two or three skittles I was eating when I hear Sadie call Quil 'Quilly'. Jacob has to pat me on the back a few times before I can properly swallow the candy.

"Quilly?" I say, through my laughter. "_Quilly_, Sadie?"

Sadie's cheeks turn a fierce red and, at this, I just laugh harder, falling into Jacob's shoulder. She just blushes even more, which makes Jake start to crow with laughter too.

"That's your new nickname, Quil!" he says in between snickers.

A deep rumble of a laugh from the right of us causes Jacob and I's loud chortles to slowly die off, and I glance over my shoulder.

I'm sad to say (or not sad to say… I'm not sure yet) that my eyes first find Paul. He's sitting in between Embry and Sam and his dark honey eyes are on my form. Something I can't identify is glimmering in his orbs; it warms his irises so they almost look like they're glowing and I know I lose a few seconds because they suck me in so deep that I have to scratch my way out of them.

My attention diverts to Embry when I manage to look away from Paul and I find him looking bashfully over at the four of us. A second after that, he frowns deeply and then hangs his head so that I can't see his eyes anymore.

"_Asshole_," mutters Quil.

I'm not sure why, but I know that as soon as that curse was let lose by Quil, all the tension that had been building for as long as the Uley Boys and my friends and I have been sitting here was going to finally explode. And it does, just seconds after that startling realization dawns in my brain.

"Would you quit calling me that?" snaps Embry.

His tone is dark, something I'd rarely ever heard from my old friend, and he's glaring hotly over at Quil.

"And why the hell would I do that?" sneers Quil.

"Because it's not true!" Embry shouts.

When he rises to his feet and begins to tremble a little, I frown, cowering into Jacob a little because _holy shit_, what was he doing?

"What do you mean, _it's not true_?" spits Quil. He, too, jumps to his feet, and even though he barely reaches Embry's chin, he steps right up to him, fists clenched tightly. "You forgetting how you dump your _real_ friends for those juice heads? _Huh_? 'Cause we sure haven't!"

"Hey, Quil… Come on, man," tries Jacob.

"No, no! I'm sick of this shit! Ever since he came back to school he's been trying to be all buddy, buddy with us again. That's _bullshit_!"

I stand, too, then, because Jacob has leaped up and crowded around in front of me as well. Gathering the blankets and towels, I reach for Sadie's hand and tug her a foot or two away from the thickening crowd of Quileute boys.

"Quil, don't!" Sadie pleads.

"Let's just go to the diner—for God's sake, _don't_—"

"Do you even feel the least bit bad about what you did?" Quil interrupts me.

Sighing, I run a hand through my damp hair, allowing my eyes to flick over to the remaining three Uley Boys. They're resting two or so paces away from Embry, Quil, and Jacob, but are watching it all intently. Well, Sam and Jared are; Paul, on the other hand, is switching his gaze from between the group and Sadie and I. And even though I should most definitely watch my friends in order to make sure they don't pummel each other, I allow myself to snatch up his dark golden gaze for just a moment.

He quickly traces my expression with his eyes, softens his previously hard expression for a split second, and then is striding over to Embry.

My eyes widen tenfold at seeing this and I clumsily stumble forward to the crowd then because I'm not sure if he's going to intercede or lay an uppercut on Quil or Jacob.

"No, no—" I start.

"Come on, Embry," says Paul through clenched teeth. "Let it go."

"Yeah, let it go, Embry. Go run back to these fucktards."

"Shut the fuck up, Ateara!" sneers Paul.

"Quil, man…" Jacob cautions.

I hear Sadie let out a sad, dreadful moan just as Quil redirects his attention to Paul. Reaching out for her hand again, I give it a squeeze, but that's all I can offer her because I'm not sure if I could promise that things would be alright.

"Lemme ask you somethin', man… You think it's cool that you all walk around the rez like you own the fuckin' place?" spits Quil.

"_Jesus Christ_—we don't stomp around, you idiot! If you knew—"

"That's enough," Sam interrupts, sending Embry, who was previously speaking, a warning look. "Paul, Embry, lets head back."

There's no way that an 'order' by Sam Uley was going to break this fight up. Quil is too revved up and, by the looks of him, Embry had had enough of his ex-friends name-calling. We'd probably end up having to call Jake's dad or something before we'd manage to pry any of the boys away from each other.

"I'm comin'," says Embry.

My eyes grow wide at hearing my old friends easy comply and my mouth nearly flops open when I see Embry turn without so much as a glance over his shoulder so that he can follow Sam and Jared, who'd started to trek back over to the tree line they'd come out from. Quil seems to be surprised too because he only stares after him, blinking a few times in surprise.

"Wait…" Quil mutters, tone confused.

"Just let it go, man," says Jacob. "It's gettin' late anyway."

Paul, too, starts to follow the path that Jared and Sam seemingly mapped out, though at a slower pace than Embry. He walks backwards for a few seconds and I lock eyes with him once more as he shuffles farther and farther away from me. Because he's so far away, I can't make out the color swirling around in his gaze, but figure I already know that there's some vibrant flecks of golden honey and rich cider in there somewhere (and inwardly cringe at this knowledge because I should _not_ know his eye color so well).

Paul turns his back to us after regarding me with a sweeping look that leaves me wrapped in a carnal kind of heat and I feel a little flustered as I watch him disappear into the same woods his friends just retreated into.

"Come on," murmurs Jacob. "Let's pack up and head home. I don't wanna be out here when it gets dark with those bears huntin' around."

Sadie and I start to gather the damp towels, empty skittle bags, and blankets while Jacob continues to coax Quil into letting him drive him home. The two of us have everything all ready to go before Quil says anything else.

"How could he do that to us?" Quil brokenly whispers. "I thought we were his best friends…"

And it's not until now, when we're all cold and shivering on First Beach, that I realize how much Embry leaving us has really hurt Quil.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Authors Note:<strong>

_Hello there! What did you think of the new chapter? I hope you enjoyed it. (:_

_This story might not be updated next week because this was the last pre-written chapter I had (well, I have on more but I'm not satisfied with it completely, so it doesn't count) and I want to have at least three chapters in reserve. So, yea. Because school is keeping me so busy and general life things are constantly getting in the way of me writing, I don't think I'll update next Tuesday. It might be later on in the week, like Thursday or maybe Saturday, but it definitely won't be Tuesday. _

_I hope you all stay with me 'cause I'm getting so excited for this story and I can't wait for you pretty lot to see where Paul and Blair's goes. :-)_


	5. five

**_"That has reflections of you..."_**

_ Reflections; MisterWives_

* * *

><p>The weekend is met with bleak weather and even gloomier spirits amongst my group of friends.<p>

Quil has withdrawn into himself, with not even Sadie being able to drag a full conversation out of him. Meanwhile, Jacob looks like he's got the entirety of Mount Rushmore resting on his shoulders and I'm not sure if it's because of our friend's new disposition or his worry for his crush, Bella Swan (who wasn't talking to him now because she was in some kind of funk over her boyfriend dumping her and leaving town). Sadie and I are the only ones even acting remotely unaffected, and even we weren't regarding anything like we had before the incident that happened at the beach.

I just feel heavier than I did before that because I thought it might be possible for us all to be friends with Embry again. After what happened at First Beach, though, when I saw the way he followed an 'order' from Sam, I know that Embry has no intentions of stepping away from the Uley gang and coming back to us.

"Hey, Blair," says my mother, interrupting my reverie. She knocks a few times on my bedroom door before poking her head around. "Baby, you ready to drive up to Grandma Nonny's?"

Sighing, I nod, and push myself up off my bed.

Though I had been dragging a little lately, today was going to be different. I was making the short trip up to my Nonny's today in order to deliver the Tupperware dishes that my mother had borrowed the last time my entire family had trekked down there. It would be a good visit and I'm sure that a few hours with my grandparents would make me feel better.

"Sissy leave?" asks Cora when I make it downstairs. "Sissy, no leave."

"Sissy will be back, sweet tart," says my mom, who appears from the laundry room. "Sissy will be back for dinner, right, Sissy?"

I chuckle at the two of them while fishing around in my bag for my car keys. "Yea, Sissy will be back for dinner. What're we having, anyway?"

"Dad's flying back in this evening, so I thought we'd have his favorite: lasagna."

"S'ghetti!" calls Cora happily.

"No, baby," chuckles my mom. "No, lasagna. Say it like that, sweet tart. La-sag-na."

"La-la!" squeals Cora.

I let out a loud ring of laughter at my little sisters antics, sweep over to peck her forehead, then my mothers, and finally head for the door. I'm halfway out of the house before my mother stops me with a warning.

"Oh, remember to stay away from that Uley house, you hear? Grandma Nonny says more of them boys been hanging out over there and I don't want you mixed up with all that, alright?" I nod, but she still doesn't look pleased, her lips pursing a little a she glances at me from over the back of the couch she'd seated herself at. "Alright… Just, don't talk to 'em, okay? They're no good."

I sigh. "I know, momma. I got it. Stay away from the Hulk and his crew."

"Hulk!" calls Cora, making a loud grunting sound (something Mason, my older brother, taught her to do).

My mother starts to laugh again and, deciding to my get away now before she starts up again, I call out a goodbye before I close the front door behind me.

* * *

><p>I bite down on my lip gently as I ease my car up the small driveway of my grandparents', my eyes straying over to the little cabin-like house that rested just to the right of their bigger two-story. Quickly, I asses the place, noting the few vehicles parked out front and how the whole property looks quite…<em>homey<em>.

There are pretty yellow flowers of some kind planted out front, along with some dark green bushes that frequent the area of La Push. A tree or two makes up the rest of their front yard, along with some kind of older model car that I wouldn't even know up close. I think I even spy a bird house up in a branch of one of the trees, but can't be sure because I'm so far away.

The medium sized cabin has been stained a golden orange color and there are some shutters that have been painted a dark red. A door that looks like some kind of carving is resting on the front of it poses as the entryway, a path made up of fine gravel bits paving the way up to it.

All in all, the house looks cute and you can tell there was quite a bit of work put into making the place look so good. I frown at this realization, thinking that you wouldn't plant someone like Sam Uley in a house that looked so warm and inviting. But then I remember that Leah Clearwater's cousin (Emily, I think her name was) lived there too and nod a little at the new explanation. _There was a woman's touch_.

"Shawnee!"

My head snaps up at the sound of my middle name, a large grin exploding over my face when I spot my Nonny waving from the front porch. She signals me in and I laugh when she turns to yell something over her shoulder (probably telling Grandpa Bear that I was here).

"Hey, Nonny!" I call happily after I get out.

"My goodness, baby!" she exclaims as she starts down the front steps.

"Now, Maya, would did that good doctor tell you, huh? I believe he said not to overexert yourself, didn't he? Why, _yes_ he did! And what're you doin'?" comes the deep voice of my Grandpa.

The man (who gets his nickname 'bear' because he is literally the size of one) moves with the gracefulness of a much younger man as he hurries to Nonny's side. He captures her elbow, his face downturned in a worried expression, and starts to help my grandmother down to the earth.

"Dang blast it, Theo!" exclaims Nonny. "I ain't dead yet and I don't care what that pretty doctor said! My grandbaby's here and I plan to go give her a hug!"

Grandpa Bear looks up at the mention of me and an easy, wide smile spreads onto his russet colored face.

"Why, if it ain't my lil' Blair!" he calls, laughing happily.

"You come on inside with us, baby, 'for you catch a chill out in this dag-blame weather," says Nonny.

"Hey, Grandpa," I wave as I do as instructed. "Hi Nonny."

"You hungry, Shawnee? I just made some banana nut muffins."

"Here, let me help my two favorite gal's in," grins my Grandpa.

"Yea, I'm hungry, Nonny."

With my Grandpa's (unneccary) help, I make it up the porch with Nonny, listening as the two of them bicker good-naturedly between each other. They fuss a little over my grandmother's ability to get up and down the front porch mostly, and when my opinion is asked for on the whole thing, I'm not able to get a word in because Nonny chastises Grandpa Bear for brining me into their bickering.

"Come on inside with Nonny, honey," says my Grandmother. "I'll fix you up a plate 'cause I know my baby's got to be starving."

"And what 'bout me, Maya? I get a plate too?" teases my Grandpa Bear.

"Oh, you hush!"

My Grandpa Bear lets out a loud hoot of laughter at Nonny's reply and shepherds the two of us inside.

I'm seated at little oak table that my grandpa had carved, which resides on one side of their kitchen and is decorated with whatever flowers were in season (something both my mother and I inherited from Nonny). Nonny starts to busy herself around the kitchen almost as soon as I plant myself in a chair while Grandpa Bear asks me how many marshmallows I'd like in my hot chocolate (I tell him five and he tells me he'll add seven or eight 'cause he knows I've been good lately).

The steaming drink is placed in front of me, a kiss on my head from Grandpa Bear added afterwards as the old man eases himself down into the red chair that rests across from me, and I sip at it while humming in gratitude.

"I knew you'd like it, honey," says Grandpa Bear, nodding proudly as he ruffles through the paper. "I make the best dang hot chocolate on this whole reservation!"

"That you do, sugar," murmurs Nonny.

Grandpa Bear smiles proudly at that and sends me a wink as he leans himself back in his chair.

"Now, Blair, you tell ol' Grandpa 'bout all them boys chasing you now, m'kay? Let me know which ones I gotta get my gun out after."

I snort into my hot chocolate and try not to roll my eyes, whether at the fact that I never have any boys to tell my grandpa about or because I get this spiel all the time, I don't know.

"Oh, you leave her alone now, Theo. Let that baby talk to all the boys she wants to!"  
>chides Nonny, who is still at the counter, loading me up a plate.<p>

"I ain't sayin' nothin', Maya Rose. Just wantin' to know who she seein, is all. Any harm in that, dove?"

Grandpa lays on the charm as he glances back at Nonny and I pretend to not catch the flirty wink he sends to her (I do, however, catch the way Nonny blushes).

"Well, tell 'bout them, baby. You seein' anyone special?" asks Nonny as she comes over with two plates (much to my Grandpa's pleasure).

She sits both of them down before going back for a muffin for herself, then she plants herself in a chair that rests to the side of Grandpa and I's.

"No, Nonny," I sigh after taking a bite of mash potatoes and swallowing. "No boys."

"Good girl," says my Grandpa after he's chewed and down a bite of chicken. "Stay away from 'em. Nothin' but trouble, all of 'em."

"You sound just like my daddy, Theo," says Nonny.

"Smart man," grumbles Grandpa as he bends low over his plate.

"Uh-huh, and he thought you were dumber 'n a bag of rocks."

I chuckle at that while taking a spoonful of lima beans and shuttling them into my mouth.

As we all eat, the two of them ask me a little bit more about boys, then change the subject to school and the rest of the family. When they get on Embry and querying about how he was feeling now, I change the topic because I don't want to think about him now. Nonny peers at me quizzically when I do this, studying me carefully with his brown eyes, but I pretend not to notice and ask for seconds.

After we've eaten, I help Grandpa Bear clean up the kitchen and don't realize I forgot the Tupperware bowls in my car till then. When I tell Nonny, she pats my hand and says she'll have me some more hot chocolate made when I come back in (and she ignores me when I say I don't think that I could even drink another glass).

Forgoing my coat, I hurry outside, skipping down the stairs and jogging to the back of my car so I dig through backseat. I'm grumbling under my breath because I was sure the things would be on top, but end up finding them underneath a text book and what I think to be a pair or two of Cora's shoes.

With the bowls in my hand and my car locked up again, I start to trek back inside. I'm not even a few feet closer to the porch when I hear the loud calls from the yard to the right of my grandparents. And even though I _know_ who it is, and even though I _know_ I shouldn't look, I do any way.

My head snaps over, my eyes roving hurriedly over the forms of who I know to be Paul, Embry and Jared. It appears that Sam hadn't joined them for whatever outing they'd just arrived from because he sweeps out the front door of his cabin and stands tall and broad shouldered in front of the goofing around gang of teenagers.

Unconsciously, my eyes zone in on a figure that appears to be just a little bit larger than Embry or Jared. I trace the planes of Paul's naked chest (or what little bit I can see from so far away), his thick biceps, and properly built shoulders before flicking my gaze up to his face. Though I'm quite a good distance away from him, I know that his orbs have more than likely warmed to a pretty, dark honey color and fine myself quietly whining low in my throat at not being able to see them appropriately.

"Shawnee, baby, you got 'em?"

The sound of Nonny's voice yanks me out of my observing (or straight up ogling) and I blush harshly as I practically trip over myself to meet her up at the top of the porch.

"Yea, Nonny," I mutter as I reach the bottom step. "I got them."

She tutts a little bit and for a second I think she's noticed my red face, but when I glance up at her, she's peering squinty eyed over at Sam's place. Her head shakes as she continues to stare over at the cabin.

"Nothin' but trouble, all of 'em," she murmurs.

I, too, glance over, though a lot more shyly than my grandmother. Sam isn't standing in front of his door anymore and I think Embry has left, leaving only Paul and Jared. The first appears to have somehow heard my grandmother's mutterings because his attention is now being directed over to us. Jared, meanwhile, is clutching his shoulder.

"You two come on inside," says Grandpa Bear, who appears just as it looks like Paul might make his way over here. "Don't like you two out here by yourself with them lingering about."

He guides Nonny in with a hand on her lower back and checks over his shoulder to make sure I'm following. Just before I cross into the house, though, I pause and glance over my shoulder one more time. I'm alarmed to see that Paul is nearly to the line that divides my grandparents' property from Sam's; the realization that he really might've heard my grandmother slams into me so hard that I fidget, uncomfortable with idea that he'd heard someone regard him in such way.

"You comin', Shawnee?" yells Nonny from somewhere inside.

Wide eyed and swallowing the thick ball of wondering at why I even gave a shit about what people thought when it came to Paul, I scramble inside.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Authors Note:<span>**

_Wow. I am so sorry that it took me so long to update this story! I had planned to pre-write so more chapters and completely rewrite this one, but ended up... doing none of that. . I did, however, get the chapter after this one written. I'm quite happy with it, too, so it'll be up next Tuesday. _

_This is a little bit of a filler chapter because I needed a stepping stone of sorts that would lead into the events that will happen in the next chapter. But I do still like this chapter. I really wanted to include Blair's family in this story because I don't think that's something we see in a lot of Twilight fics. I want you all to get to know her as well as her family (and don't tell me that you don't think her Nonny and Grandpa Bear are adorable). _

_Okay... So. Posting will resume as normal next week, meaning updates will start to be posted on Tuesdays from now on. :) Oh! One thing I did want to talk to you lot about was reviews. Now, I know that they're not everything... But I would like some feedback on how you all are liking the way the story is going. It really helps with motivation and inspiration sometimes. _

_Have a splendid day!_


	6. six

**_"And I'm caught in the crossfire of my own thoughts..."_**

_My Blood; Ellie Goulding_

* * *

><p>I tumble out of my grandparent's house an hour later, waving over my shoulder as I step out onto the porch, promising that I'll come back and bring Cora with me when I do. After guarantees that I'll drive safely and tell my mother that Nonny will call her, I make it to my car, shuffling around in my pockets for my keys as I come up to the driver side door.<p>

Instinctively, my eyes flick over to the Uley house as I continue to hunt around in my jean pockets. There are some lights illuminating the cabin windows, and what looks like a trail of grey, billowy smoke is curling out of the stone chimney. I perch myself on my tiptoes and grip the top of my car for balance as I try to get a better view at the property, but all I'm able to see in the increasing darkness is the glow that the front porch scone is bathing some patches of flowers in.

A sigh stumbles out of my mouth, both at the fact that I was trying to look over at Sam Uley's house a_gain _and that I knew exactly who I'd been looking for (because I sure wasn't putting in so much effort to look at Sam's flowers). I scowl at myself and go back to looking for my keys, growing frustrated when the damned things get stuck in the tight pockets (and at the fact that I'm always searching for _Him_).

I'm about to begin to unlock my car when a loud and very distinctive howl echoes out around me. I jump in alarm, my eyes widen in slight fright, and my hearts starts to beat so fast inside my chest that I briefly wonder if it was going to burst out.

The sound seems to encircle me in the line of woods that surround the little bit of reservation my grandparents live on, coming at me so fast that it slams into my frame with a ferocity that nearly sends me flat onto the ground.

Another noise, this one the snapping of a few twigs, causes my head to snap over to the left, to the other set of encroaching trees that ate up most of the property here. I swallow thickly and mentally chide myself for not moving even an inch; I'm too scared—too paralyzed by the idea that there could be a pack of wolves about to make me their dinner— to do much of anything, though.

"Blair."

The voice that speaks is soft, but still, I whirl around so fast that my stomach slams into the side mirror of my car and I stumble back some, eyes even wider now as I gasp a little bit from the impact.

The figure standing before me is easily recognizable, even in the dim lighting of the fading evening, and though there are a few warnings in my head that _should _be there (because I'm still refusing to admit that I know he didn't cut my tire), but all I can hear inside my mind is the quieting calm that the warmth of his presence brings.

"Paul," I murmur.

"Are you alright?" he asks, tone still soft.

"I… Uhm… There's wolves—I mean, I heard wolves—_a_ wolf," I splutter, my cheeks reddening with both humiliation and the effort of trying to get my tongue to work properly.

Paul smiles faintly, the corners of his mouth tilting upwards, and he takes a few steps closer. "Yea, I heard it too. But I bet they're way out in the woods. Nothin' to worry about, really."

"You think so?"

I don't know why I ask him this—why I put so much stake in his opinion about La Push's wolves or my own safety when it comes to this because it's not like he's an expert on the animals; but, still, he's telling me it's okay and my heart settles into a pleasant thrumming at hearing the reassuring words. And, at this point, I realize that my body is reacting much differently than my mind, which scares me more than the possibility of wolves lurking somewhere close.

"Yea," he says, taking one more step towards me, offering an even warmer smile. "They tend to keep to themselves a lot."

"Oh."

Paul chuckles and shoves his big hands into the pockets of his cut-off shorts, which causes his biceps to flex and the veins in his thick forearms to protrude a little (and me to sigh much too deeply, which he picks up on, embarrassingly enough).

"You headed home now?" he asks.

I nod. "Uh, yea. I was just visiting my grandparents. Had to return some stuff for my mom."

"Your grandparents seem like nice folks."

He says this with a little bit of heat behind the words and I wonder if he'd heard the things my grandmother had said about him earlier. I don't know how he could've, because he'd been so far away, but the way he's looking now makes me think that maybe his ears had picked up on one or two words.

"Yea, they are. I don't know what I'd do without them," I say, smiling a little.

He just stares at me, saying nothing in response.

Paul is so close now that I can see how warm his cider colored eyes are and, again, I sigh rather loudly at finding his gaze so inviting. My body leans into the warmth that his skin seems to always radiate, the heat wrapping me up and chasing out the chill of the cold evening, and I feel as all the slight terror from earlier is replaced with contentment.

I trace his face with my gaze after getting my fill of drinking in his honey orbs and find that he seems to be just as lost as I am. It's a comforting observation, one I use to convince myself to continue to stay wrapped up in him.

"Blair…" he murmurs. "I—"

But before he can get out a full sentence, he's cut-off by another howl and I jump, which nearly careens me into him, thanks to how close he'd come. I frantically search the woods in the direction from which I think I heard the call vibrate from as my heart starts to thud erratically again.

I try to remember that Paul said that the wolves are more solitary creatures, but (and though I hate to admit it) I've grown too frightened, mostly thanks to the fact that my imagination had run away with images of wolves devouring me.

At the feel of warm fingers gently pressing against the small of my back, my attention snaps back to Paul. He's gazing down at me with a furrowed expression masking his handsome face, his lips puckering in a slight pout while his brows shift downward.

"S'alright," he murmurs.

I stare up at him, lost once more, enveloped in his heat and the fascination that he's touching me with one of his big hands, and sink into him a little bit. His eyes fly around my face and I notice that he's studying me much the same way I was doing him; his orbs pause on my forehead, though, and I blush when he brings his other hand up to lightly ghost his fingertips over the bruise that has almost faded.

"Does it hurt still?" he asks quietly.

I shake my head. "No."

"I'm sorry about that. That day… It was—a lot happened—," he cuts himself off again, this time stopping before letting out a frustrated hum that vibrates against the muscles of his chest. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Blair. I'd never… Not on purpose, not ever."

I'm unable to say anything to that and though I want to lean my head into his big, warm palm, I just let out a rather dejected sigh before taking a step back, putting some space between us as his hands fall to his sides.

"I have to go," I whisper, swallowing thickly because my throat is too dry.

"Oh," he says. "Well, uh… Be careful, huh?"

"Yea… I will be."

And with that, I shuffle back to my car, this time managing to unlock the door and get inside before any other interruption can spring up.

Paul is still standing in the same spot when I start up the engine, so I offer a small wave because I feel awkward with having him just watch me as I back out of my grandparents' driveway. This makes a wide smile explode across his face and he tosses a big hand up in friendly return.

Dragging in a deep, steadying (but shaking) breath, I turn my attention on getting out of the driveway without running over my grandparents' mailbox and when I look back to see if Paul is still there, he is suddenly gone.

* * *

><p>My mother is a little bit frantic when I return home and she pelts me with questions as soon as I come through the door.<p>

"Blair Shawnee!" she says as she comes sweeping out of the kitchen. "Where have you been? I said be home for dinner!"

I sigh. "Nonny kept me longer, momma. She wouldn't let me go. You know how she is."

She narrows her eyes at me for a few seconds and she's about to open her mouth again, but my father sweeps in behind her.

"Baby!" he calls out happily.

A wide, excited smile slides onto my lips at the sight of him and I brush past my mom in order to fling myself into the arms of my father. He catches me easily, though lets out a grunt as I cling onto him, and holds me tightly.

"How ya doin', baby girl? Didn't miss your old man too much this time, did ya?" he chuckles.

I bury my face into his chest because tears have started to spring into my eyes and wrap my arms around his neck tighter in order to keep myself up properly. My dad just rubs my back while murmuring about how much he missed me quietly into my ear.

"I missed you a lot, daddy," I manage through my tears.

"You know I missed you too, baby," he says back. "And I'm not leavin' again for a while."

I pull back at that and study his expression. "Seriously? You're going to stay home?"

When I glance behind me to gaze my mother's reaction at his words, I notice that she's smiling, the angry look from before now gone, and holding Cora tightly in her arms. She just nods at me, winking once or twice, and laughs quietly.

"Sure am, baby girl. Got it all fixed up. I'm not going anywhere for a couple of months."

An exhilarated squeal ripples out of my mouth and I launch myself at my father again. He catches me, once more, in his arms as a loud laugh echoes out of his chest.

"Alright now," pushes in my mother, who sniffles a little. "Come on you two, before Cora and I eat all this food ourselves."

My father pats me on the back a few times when I take a few steps away from him, offers me a widening grin, and then tosses his arm over my shoulders in order to guide me into the dining room.

"Now, Hazel, honey, you know that those are fighting words in this house."

My mother lets out a loud laugh that makes Cora giggle too. "Me and Cora ain't scared, are we, sweet tart?"

"No scared!" she shrieks.

We all laugh as she claps her hands together, watching as my little sister forms tiny fists with her hands and playfully shakes them at my dad.

My family settles around the table and pretty soon plates are filled with food. I take lesser portions than everyone else because of the large afternoon lunch that I'd had at Nonny and Grandpa Bears'.

As we eat, my father elaborates on how he's going to be able to stay in La Push and keep up with the demands that the magazine he works for puts on him. He explains that he's even taken on a little job that the local newspaper had offered him, going into a bit of detail of how the story would center around the recent bear sightings and such (he mentions going to talk to Chief Swan and I try not to wrinkle my nose at the thought of Bella, the Chiefs daughter and Jacob's crush).

I spend a few more hours downstairs with my family before saying goodnight to my parents (Cora had long been put to bed) and heading up to my room. Sluggishly, I change into my pajamas, then brush my teeth and comb out my hair before crawling into bed.

My hand is reaching out for the burning lamp resting on my bedside table in order to turn it off, but just as my fingertips graze the cool metal of the thing, a loud scuffling sound pulses just outside my window. It causes me to shuffle down into my covers and burrow underneath them. Memories from early in the evening, when I had known wolves had been roaming somewhere close by, evade my mind and I tremble a little bit at the thought of some of them having followed me home.

I'm just about to forgo the idea of sleeping by myself in favor of hunkering down in the living room with my dad (who always stayed up too late) when a few light ticking sounds tap against my window pane.

A scream is about to push its way up from my throat but the thought to let it out is paused when the sound of my cell phone going off barrels through the room. I scramble for it, hoping whoever was calling would be able to call the police should someone really be trying to break in and kill me, and only manage to see the name 'Quilly' flashing before I answer.

"Are you deaf or somethin'?" he harshly whispers as soon as I press the device to my ear.

"What?" I murmur, brows down turning.

"I've been outside your window for five minutes now, trying to get your attention. How have you not heard me?"

I stumble out of bed and to my window, opening the thing before peering down. When I spot Quil, his arm is poised, as if he was going to throw something, and it's not until a little rock knocks against face that I realize it was him tossing the pebbles up that was making all that noise.

I glower down at him.

"I'm going to kill you!" I hiss. "You scared the shit outta me! I thought someone was coming in to murder me!"

He snickers on the other end. "Can you let me in?"

"No," I snap.

"It's about Jake, Blair. He's sick."

I try not to let those two words infect me, but they ravel up in a mess of tangled nerves and knotted worry till I feel like I'm being doused in dread.

_Jake was sick._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Authors Note:<strong>

_Well, how did you lovelies like that chapter? I hope you all enjoyed the Blair/Paul scene quite a lot. ;) _

_As you can see, now we're moving on to the other boys changing into shape-shifters and that means that things are going to pick up. So you can expect a lot more drama, as well as a lot more of Paul and Blair. **By the way, how do you like how I'm painting the imprinting business so far? What do you think of the imprintee's point of view?**_

_As always, reviews are appreciated! They're what help keep the motivation up (...that sounds so dirty). _


	7. seven

_"But something tells me I'm not alone..."_

_{{ **Figure 8; Ellie Goulding **}}_

* * *

><p>Sneaking Quil in is difficult.<p>

There are no trees near my second story window so he couldn't climb up (I doubt that he could make the swing from a branch to my window anyway) and my father often stayed awake till the early morning hours when he returned from covering a story. So it was either risk letting my friend in through the backdoor or let him wait two or three hours outside until my dad went to sleep.

Quil told me he'd rather get caught by my dad than spend any more time out in the frost that was encroaching around my house (seconds later he explained that it would be great if he _wasn't_ caught too).

"I don't understand why you couldn't have just called me," I say after we've managed to get him up the stairs and into my room. "Or why you couldn't have waited till Monday. I mean, did you _really_ have to come to my house in the middle of the night to tell me that Jacob was sick?"

Quil snorts, almost tumbling over as he removes his shoes. "You know as well as I do what being 'sick' means on the reservation now, Blair." When I don't say anything, just merely peer over at him, he sighs and turns his attention to untying his left sneaker. "Sam's got him too, now."

"You don't know that," I murmur. "He could really be sick. We did go surfing on the one of the coldest days of the year, in case you forgot."

"No," Quil says, shaking his head. "He's with Sam now."

I cross the room so I can settle on the end of my bed. Quil joins me a few seconds later, after he's managed to get out of his shoes, and wraps himself up in the quilt I always kept folded there. He slinks down in it while I stare over at him sadly.

"Well… How do you know Sam's got him? Have you seen them together?"

"Nah, but it's only a matter of time."

This is ridiculous, I think—at least, that's what I want it all too really be: Quil just jumping to conclusions because Embry walked away and he's afraid that he'll lose the rest of his friends as well.

So what… Jake was sick. Why did that have to mean that he was going to ally up with the Uley gang now? Why did that have to mean that he wasn't going to have anything to do with his friends again?

In the back of my mind, though, rests the same fear that I know to be troubling Quil. I can't help but wondering if, here soon, I might see Jacob traipsing around with hardly any clothes on, following Sam Uley's orders like he's some sort of dictator. And the longer all this rockets through my mind, the more denial tries to fill in the cracks and crevices lingering around in these thoughts. Eventually I become so overwhelmed and angry that I can't seem to do anything but clasp my hands into fists, resting them on the tops of my thighs while my jaw locks.

"No," I shake my head. "No. He's just sick, Quil. That's it. He'll be fine. He'll be better in no time and we'll all go to the dance together and… and… _He's fine_!"

Quil eases a long arm around my shoulders and pulls me into him till I'm resting with my head nestled underneath his jaw. He gives me a gentle squeeze while shushing me gently, promising me that everything was going to be fine because I still had him and Sadie.

I don't cry, just nearly drown in the possibility that I was losing all my friends to some asshole who I had begun to hate.

"What're we going to do?" I quietly ask sometime later.

Quil doesn't answer me right away. "I don't know," he sighs. "I don't know, Blair."

We sit like that for a little while longer. Quil doesn't say much of anything else, only breaking the silence to repeatedly tell me that everything was going to be fine, and I can't manage to mutter anything either because I still am trying to push away the ability to accept that Jacob might be gone too.

He leaves through the backdoor after we hear my father head up to bed finally, trekking down through the backyard with the promise that he, myself, and Sadie would meet at Jacob's house tomorrow to see him (because I needed visual proof; Quil's words weren't enough for me). With a wave, he vanishes into the night. I hear his car start up at the beginning of the driveway a minute later.

When I head up to bed again, it's with heaviness pushing against my body. I don't feel like crying or even moping; I just have some lingering uneasiness swimming around that makes me grimace in slight discomfort.

Sliding back into bed again, I find my cell phone discarded in my sheets and slide a finger against screen. It comes to life with a flurry of notifications that show Quil really had tried to call me several times today; there are about fifteen that I missed from him, the earliest from around noon, when I'd been at Nonny and Grandpa Bear's. I figure that's why he'd resorted to shambling around in the dark and feel a little guilty at having yelled at him earlier.

I don't know why, exactly, but I find Jake's name in my contacts before tapping the call button. Nervously, I bite down on my bottom lip while hesitantly listening as a ringing sound begins to vibrate through the device.

It chimes out the traditional sound just twice before I'm sent to voicemail.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure Billy said he was sick, Quil?"<p>

Sadie glances over at our friend, worriedly studying him as he merely peers out the windshield of his car with a rather angry expression resting on his face.

"Yea," he mutters. "Said Jake had mono or somethin'."

I frown. "Mono? Where the hell would Jake get mono from?"

Up front, where he's seated behind the wheel, Quil shrugs but says nothing. Sadie sends me a look of uncertainty and when she grips his hand, I pretend not to notice, turning my head to look out of the back passenger window.

The three of us are crammed into Quil's car, headed to the Black house in order to talk to Jacob (if Billy will let us in) and see if he's alright.

While Sadie has taken a firm stance against the possibility of Jacob joining Sam's gang, Quil has all but convinced himself that our longtime friend has already switched teams. I, meanwhile, am still on the fence, much like I'd been last night.

There's too much swirling around inside my brain for me to properly pick out what was true and what wasn't. I was hoping that seeing Jacob (either sick in his bed or alongside Sam and his cult) would help me choose which side I'd end up on.

"He's bikes still here," murmurs Sadie.

I snap out of my thinking and peer around her in order to properly get a view at the front of the Black house.

Jacob's bike, the one he'd built with Bella, is propped up in front of the small front porch that rested in front of the entrance. I can't tell if it's been ridden recently, but hope that because it was still here, that Jacob would be too.

After Quil parks the car, we all shuffle out. Sadie takes Quil's hand again and when he pauses in order to offer her a small smile, I continue up to the front door, hoping that her being so affectionate with him would tone down his anger.

I knock a few times, then wait. It takes only a few seconds before I hear the creaking of Billy's wheelchair groaning throughout the small house, alerting me to the fact that he was at least home.

"Blair," he says in surprise after he's gotten the door open.

I do my best to offer him a big smile. "Hey, Billy. Haven't seen you in a while."

"Been a week or two, hasn't it? And look atchu… Growing like a weed!"

I chuckle and glance behind me, searching for Quil and Sadie. They've pulled out of their moment and are standing behind me now. The latter stretches around me to offer Billy a timid wave while Quil stares at the tribal elder a little rudely; he doesn't even offer so much as a smile.

"Er… Well, could we come in?" I ask after realizing that the social interactions were going to be left up to me. "We heard Jake was sick and just wanted to make sure he was okay."

"Sorry, kiddo," Billy starts. "No can do. He's laying up in bed and we got orders from the doc to keep him sort of isolated."

My brows furrow at that. I wasn't too keen on things related to medical practices and such, but if you got mono through salvia and the like, then why would Jacob need to be shut up in his room? It didn't make sense to me and when Quil barrels up beside me, I guess the pieces don't click for him either.

"Come on, Billy," snaps Quil. "Tell us the truth. He's gone off with Uley, hasn't he?"

"Now Quil—"

"Hey Jake!" interrupts my friend, who yells so loudly that I cringe away from him.

"Quil!" Sadie chastises.

She grabs onto his arm and tries to nudge him back a little, but he won't budge.

"He isn't here, is he? He's off with Sam, just like I said," determines Quil when we hear nothing back from his loud call.

Billy sighs but says nothing for a moment, just regards Quil with a tired look before starting to wheel himself back into his home. He gets a firm grip on the front door and starts to ease it closed, letting the three of us know that we'd not be visiting the Black's today.

"You'll know everything in time," is all he says before sweeping Quil and I with knowing looks.

The door is closed then, leaving us out in the slightly chilly air.

Quil huffs before turning on his heel and starting to trek back to his car. "Whatever," he spits. "Who needs 'im?"

"I do!" I exclaim. "I need him, Quil! We can't just—we have to—"

"We can't do anything, Blair! Don't you think if we could, Embry would be here with us right now?"

"Don't fight! It's not going to solve anything!" pushes in Sadie.

I rake a rather shaky hand through my tangled hair and avert my gaze to the ground underneath the soles of my feet. My mind reels with broken pieces of plans that I try to scramble together in order to find a way to grasp my best friends hand before he left me too. But all I come up with is meager attempts at confronting him; they're thwarted, though, when I realize that by the time I see him next, he won't want to have anything to do with me.

At the feeling of a hand lacing with mine, I flick my eyes up, meeting a pair of soft brown ones. It's Quil and when I peer over, I notice that he's holding Sadie's hand as well.

"Come on," he murmurs, tone much softer than before. "Let's go to my grandpa's… Get something warm to eat."

I just nod, squeezing his hand back when his constricts comfortingly around mine, and follow the two of them to the car.

* * *

><p>Quil's grandfathers' house is situated only five minutes from Jacobs', so the drive is short and we're not far enough away for my comfort; I wanted to be on the other side of the reservation and as we all get out, I think that I should've suggested heading to Nonny's instead.<p>

"Come on," says Quil, his tone a little brighter than a few minutes ago. "I know Gramp's got somethin' cookin'. It'll make us feel better."

Sadie snorts. "Do you ever _not _think with your stomach, Quil?"

"I'm a growing boy, Sade—I gotta have my protein."

Their playful banter trickles into Old Quil's house and I make to follow them, but a howl resounds through the encroaching trees that are always threatening to swallow up the reservation. It startles me, the sound does, and I whirl around in the direction that I think I heard the cry vibrate up from.

Swallowing thickly, I sweep the outcropping of tall pines, narrowing my eyes in order to try and focus in on the dank blankness of the wood. I trek forward just a little bit when what I think to be a large, burly shadow of something massive blurs past a few of the trees I was trying to center in on. For a second I even think about abandoning the idea of something warm to eat in favor of investigating, but then another howl echoes up from out of the forest and it's so marginally different from the others I'd heard that I change my mind.

I teeter back some as another bay rings out, shivering a little as I feel gooseflesh vibrate down the length of my arms, and try not to let the fear that had suddenly begun trying to swallow me render me immobile. But that howl had been so snarling and nasty—and hadn't sounded anything like the sort of pleasant, almost playful, yelps I'd heard just a day ago; it makes me wonder if what Paul had said about the wolves keeping to themselves was true or not.

I'm about to scoot myself back even further, my imagination having run a little wild and the result being me terribly frightened, when Quil throws open the screen door he'd disappeared behind just a moment ago.

"Blair, you comin' in or what? Gramps says he's made your favorite."

He's grinning wide when I glance over at him, all traces of our interaction with Billy gone, and he motions for me to follow in behind him this time.

I nearly trip over myself when I finally move, my joints stiff with fear, and Quil snickers as he remarks something about my 'finesse'; I shoot back with the fact that I didn't know he knew such a big word and we head into his grandfather's kitchen ribbing each other.

When Sadie spies us, she perks up on the wooden bench she was seated on and I just smile over at her, hoping to explain non-verbally that the little spat Quil and I had had earlier was nothing. She brightens even more after that.

"Blair Shawnee!"

I turn at the sound of my name and feel my smile widen when I spot Old Quil standing in front of his stove, stirring something with a spoon as he wipes a hand down the flowered apron he was wearing.

"Hey, Old Quil," I say, heading towards him in order to get him into a hug.

The old man draws me into him after he sits down the utensil and is ever-so gentle with me as he wraps his arms around my frame. He pats my back comfortingly a few times, murmuring in a happy, cheerful tone about how good it was to see me.

"I was just sayin' to Quil that he needed to bring you all by, you know," says Old Quil when he pulls back. "I told him that I don't see you all enough, but you know how he gets… Start talking about that pretty girl Sadie and he forgets everything else."

"Gramps!" Quil calls from the place he'd taken next to our other friend.

Old Quil just smiles and winks at me.

"Now you go sit yourself down, Blair, and I'll getcha a plate of my best fish, alright? Caught it just yesterday with Billy—best in that whole damn lake!"

I take one of the seats opposite of Quil and Sadie, giggling when I notice that Quil is trying to explain to Sadie that he really didn't talk about her as much as his grandfather was claiming.

"He exaggerates. You know, he's getting old… Starting to become senile and all that."

"Quil, don't say that!" I exclaim, reaching across the table to slap his shoulder.

He laughs and, almost completely mirroring his grandfather, sends Sadie a playful wink. I chuckle lowly under my breath, and when Sadie glances over at me with reddening cheeks, allow my grin to widen; she just turns his gaze down to her full plate.

Old Quil brings me over a plate as well as one for himself and we all begin to eat the fish he tells us he'd gotten Harry Clearwater's fish fry specifically for. That's the topic we stay on for about five minutes before a howl nearly shakes the entire house.

I almost topple out of my seat in alarm and glance around frantically, my eyes searching out the large window I was seated by. I can't make out, anything, though; it's all too far away from where I sit.

"Wolves have sure been active lately," comments Old Quil.

His eyes have risen up above his big glasses and he's peering up at his grandson in a way that makes me think the old man might know something that Sadie and I don't. It's only when I look at Quil that I realize he doesn't know why his grandfather is staring at him in such a way either; he sends me a shrug before shoveling a bite off my plate.

"Yea," Quil murmurs through his mouthful. "S'weird… Wonder if I could catch one and make it a pet or something, Gramps."

Old Quil deflates noticeably and lets out a disgruntled sigh before standing with his plate, beginning to grumble unintelligibly under his breath as he heads up to the stove for seconds.

"They'd probably eat you before you could, Quil," says Sadie.

"But seriously," I cut in. "Have you guys been hearing them a lot?" Quil just shrugs, gives a little shake of his head before reaching for the piece of fish that Sadie hadn't eaten, while my other friend stares at me in concern. "I've heard them a lot here lately, like five or six times now."

"Maybe you're going to die."

Sadie reaches over to deliver a smack to the back of Quil's head, berating him for saying such a thing. That's when Old Quil teeters back over to us and as he drops himself back down beside me with a new plate full, he sends his grandson another exasperated look.

"Those are banshees, son," he says, shaking his head a little. "If you hear the scream of a banshee it means death is coming for you."

"I knew that," Quil says.

When his grandfather sends him another look over his glasses again, my friend just hunkers down in his seat a little more.

"Why am I hearing them so much, though, Old Quil?" I ask.

Old Quil was a tribal elder, one who knew every single story and legend that has ever been created about our tribe; he's wise and I think that he's got to have some reasonable explanation… Or, at least, I'm hoping he does, because I'm starting to become paranoid.

"Maybe your destiny lies with the wolves, Blair," he says.

I stare at him for a second, trying to see if he's trying to yank my chain or something, but the old man just returns my studying look with an expression that resembles the one Billy Black had swept Quil and I with earlier.

"I… What?" I splutter.

Old Quil smiles kindly at me and pats my hand. "You'll see in time, my dear. All in time."

I glance over at Quil and he just makes a swirling signal by his ear, mutely telling me his grandfather was crazy. When Sadie catches him doing that, she slaps him on his arm again and sends him a glare.

We finish our food without further interruption from the lingering wolves of La Push and soon, we're all heading out to Quil's car again. I wave goodbye to Old Quil, who makes Sadie and I promise to come back soon, and then slide into the back of the car.

Just as Quil is backing out of his grandfather's drive, I glance over to the woods and could swear I see one or two large forms blur through the trees again.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Authors Note:<strong>

_So! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :) We're beginning to see that the howling from the wolves a lot now... Wonder why that is... And I wonder why the howls towards the end of this chapter were so different... Wonder if it might have something to do with Blair possibly seeing one of the wolves... Hmmm... I wonder... ;)_

_OH! And by the way, make sure you're leaving reviews! They help out a bunch when it comes to motivation and such. I always try to post questions, so you could just answer those if you wanted... Every little bit helps! Also, a big, HUGE thank you to all you lovely and absolutely wonderful people who've reviewed so far. I don't respond back to them because I forget but I want you to know that I see them and they make me so freakin' happy. (:_

**QUESTIONS:**

[-] What's with the looks from Billy Black and Old Quil?

[-] Which wolf do you think Blair saw?

[-] Do you think the wolves (or wolf) are following her?

[-] What's going to happen between Blair, Sadie, and Quil when Jacob returns to school?


	8. eight

**_"I've practiced this for hours, gone round and round..."_**

_No Surprise; Daughtry _

* * *

><p>Jacob isn't at school on Monday, but Embry, Jared, and Paul show up halfway through the day, pushing their way into the cafeteria line in order to get some lunch. My gaze ends up staying snagged on Paul's wide form and I can't seem to help but drink him in, like not having laid eyes on him in close to a day and a half had left me yearning for his warm colored skin and rippling muscles.<p>

I sweep him with many glances, the first being quick in order to sate some of the hunger that was nearly ravishing my body, while the last is much slower so I can study his features individually.

There are dark, bruise-like shadows under his eyes, I notice, and his black, sheared hair is in a little bit of disarray, as if he'd just spent all night out in the harsh winds that had blown through La Push last night. His caramel jeweled eyes are half-lidded as he waits in line behind Embry and his big hand shakes with a horrible tremor as he brings it up to run through his thick hair.

My observations make me frown and something that feels like concern rushes through my body.

_Was he alright? Had he… Had just been out partying all weekend, or was there something more serious to blame for his exhausted state?_

As I continue to hungrily look him over, I can't help but notice that the black t-shirt he's wearing drapes his toned form in a way that nearly has me salivating and if it weren't for the fact that I worried about him wearing cropped jeans in this harsh winter weather, then I probably wouldn't have been able to help myself; I'd be halfway across this cafeteria by now.

I get so lost in him that it's not until I hear Sadie begging Quil not to do something that I get pulled out of the trance-like state Paul's presence had seemingly casted me into.

Quil is jumping up in order to stride over to confront the gang, but just as he's about halfway to them, I hurry up and snatch his arm. He turns on me with a furious look on his face and I nearly cower down at how angry he looks; it's only when I think that a fight between him and three Uley boys would be much worse do I square up against him.

"Would you think rationally?" I hiss at him. "You'll get your ass handed to you, Quil! There's _three_ of them and _one_ of you!"

Quil leans down in order to push his face closer to mine and I swear I hear him growl. "They've got Jake! I know they do, Blair! I can't just—"

"Hey, _Ateara_! Back the fuck up before I break your damn arm!"

The deep voice resonates from behind Quil and I peer around my friend in order to see who'd decided to push into our conversation. However, when my eyes land on the very tall person, I feel my eyebrows shoot up in surprise and my heart to start to beat frantically.

Paul was standing behind Quil, a menacing look—one that definitely outshone Quil's—on his handsome face and his large hands are balled into fists at his side. They were shaking even more than I'd seen them doing before.

"I'd like to see you try, Lahote," sneers Quil.

Lumbering closer to Quil in just three steps, Paul presses in on my friend, his face just mere inches from Quil's.

"If you ever do that to her again, then you'll be the star of the show."

My eyebrows, if possible, shoot up even further at hearing that and I trip over myself as I halt in my decision to try and split them up.

_Paul was taking up for me?_

"Last time I checked, Blair was my best friend, not yours. Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure she hates your fucking guts."

A pained expression spreads across Paul's face and I grimace at seeing such a look cloak his pretty features. My chest convulses in what feels like a tight hold, nearly causing me to whimper, and all of a sudden all I want is for his features to smooth back out into something much more pleasant. I don't want him to be in pain—the very thought makes tears pool in my eyes that I have to furiously blink away.

That's when I decide to intervene, because that look was doing something to me—something I couldn't explain—and I nearly crash into a nearby table in my haste to get to Paul's side.

"No, I don't—" I start.

"For Christ's sake, Quil," hisses Sadie. "Come sit back down!"

She appears up from our nearby table and latches onto Quil's forearm in order to try and tote him back to his seat. He glares hotly at Paul, sneering once more, before reaching for my hand; he starts to drag me back along with him.

I glance back in order to peer at Paul again and when I notice that he's about to stalk after us all, my eyes widen again.

_Was he going to fight Quil?_

Jared steps in, though, and he grabs his friend shoulder, pushing him back a few times as he whispers something harshly to him. Paul throws his hand up in our direction as he hisses something in return and his eyes fix on my own as Jared begins to quickly talk again.

I don't look away, not even as Quil starts to spit nasty things about the Uley gang—Jake included (even though we still hadn't seen him with them)—, and end up so captivated that I just want to yank out of my friends hold so I can go to Paul. Sadie calling my name in concern is the only thing that saves me from doing so and I'm a little disappointed as I take my seat next to her.

_I want to go to him—I want to make sure he's not in pain anymore._

Glancing down to the jello I'd gotten earlier, I frown as the pull becomes stronger, quickly beginning to wonder if I just strode over there right now what would happen.

"I—" I start, but Quil cuts me off with another rant about Uley and his puppets.

I sigh and glance back to my food.

Lately, I'd noticed that Quil's anger had grown worse, and I wasn't sure if that had to do with all of our friends abandoning us or if there was another reason lying underneath all his spitting fire. Usually he was a happy-go-lucky kind of person and never would be the first to throw the punch, but now I suspected that nearly half the incidents he gets into were probably his fault.

It was odd and I was worried about him, but hadn't thought to, maybe, talk to him about it. There had been too much going on and we'd all been wrapped up in that.

"Such assholes," I hear him say when I zone back in on his ramblings. "I mean, he thinks he can tell me what to do when it comes to _my_ best friend! Just who the fuck does that prick think he is?"

I turn to look for Paul again and find him standing in the lunch line, his own gaze directed at me. He looks to be trembling a little bit, which makes me frown because I worry about what all Quil had said to him—the bit about me hating him sticking out more painfully—and offer up a small, warm smile instinctively. It only takes a second before his tense shoulders are sagging in relief and a crooked grin is exploding across his lips.

I can't help but giggle at his response, feeling my cheeks reddening in a blush when Jared searches for what his friend was looking at in such a way and rolls his eyes when he finds me. He gives Paul a gentle shove, a little smile of his owns on his face, and points up towards the moving line. Paul sends me one last lingering grin before starting to shuffle up in order to get his food.

Glancing down to my hands, my smile remains and I can't help but giggle again.

"What're you giggling about?" Sadie asks me.

My head snaps to her and when I see the curious, cheerful smile on her face, I feel my eyes widen.

I couldn't tell her about the little moment with Paul, mainly because our friends were ready to throw fists with Paul and all his friends; I didn't think it would bode well if I were to say that even though I was weary of him (I mean, I was _trying_ to be weary of him), I thought I had developed a little crush on the Uley gang member.

"Erm… I'm just happy to have some jello," I lie (badly).

Sadie rolls her eyes but turns her attention to her own plate.

Paul, Jared, and Embry pick a table over in the corner, where everyone in the cafeteria throws them looks from their own seats and Quil hisses at them under his breath. But they seem immune to any of the wary glances people were throwing them; Embry slumps his head down onto the tabletop after he scarfs down the soup we'd been served up today, and Jared runs a hand roughly over his face before pulling out a book and beginning to work on what appears to be some kind of homework. Paul, however, cards another trembling hand through his hair and, with his tray still full of steaming food, sits there for a time; I become so concerned that I begin to debate going over there again.

I'm about to push myself up from my seat when his head snaps up and his tired, fawn colored orbs lock on me. Pausing in my attempts to get up, I openly stare at him, sweeping his features with a quick searching look before attempting to turn the corners of my mouth up in another warm smile. Paul sends me a lopsided grin in return and I duck my head then, shyly tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear.

I try to ignore how fire is eating up the skin of my throat and coasting up onto my cheeks, hoping that Paul couldn't see the flaming red from where he sat.

"We should go, Blair," murmurs Sadie.

I glance over to her, quickly picking up the way she's frowning over at Quil. When I look to our other friend, I notice that he's seemed to have caught on to my line of vision and is sneering threateningly at Paul again. This makes my blood boil, in defense for Paul and in agitation that Quil couldn't seem to get himself under control today.

"Would you stop?" I spit, leaning over the table to slap his forearm.

He jerks his head around to me. "You and him… seeing each other or something?"

My eyes widen and hastily jerk over to where Paul is still sitting. He's frowning deeply, like he'd heard what Quil had said, and I gulp before looking back to my friend.

"Of course not! What would you say that?"

"Seriously, Quil," says Sadie. "You've been a real asshole today and if you don't want to be the only one sitting at a lunch table by himself from now on, then you better change your damn attitude because we're getting sick of it!"

And with that, she gathers her books, murmurs an apology to me, and sweeps out of the cafeteria.

My eyes are even wider now and I can't quite believe that Sadie, the one who, out of all of us, had always managed to keep herself calm no matter what, had just given Quil a tongue lashing.

"Sadie!" Quil groans, pushing himself up from the table in order to chase after her.

For a second I think to advise him that that probably wasn't a good idea, but he's out of earshot before I can manage to get out a syllable.

Sighing, I lean forward and rest my elbows on the table top, using my fingertips to gently massage the place in the middle of my forehead. I could feel a headache beginning to throb there and if that wasn't bad enough, there was this annoying feeling resting just behind my navel that was making me feel like there was something I should do but just can't figure out what… In short, I was sure I was going mad.

I star to grumble curses about Quil's attitude as I take my tray to the trash and then head back to our table for my books. My muttering is interrupted, though, when I notice that Paul is seated at one of the chairs, another crooked grin on his face.

"Hi," he murmurs when I get near enough.

I swallow thickly before answering, "Hi."

If it's possible, his grin widens and he brings himself to a standing position when he notices that I'm not going to sit again.

Honestly, I'd started to panic. My reactions and concerns from earlier were drumming like a parade through my mind and even though I couldn't pinpoint what had made me act that way, its scares me now.

Paul Lahote does things to me that no one else does and maybe it's because he seemed to be drawing everyone that meant something to me away from my life or it could be because he was part of a lecherous group of people that I didn't like; whatever the reason, I wanted to stay away from him. My body, however, seemed to have different plans than my mind.

"I have to go," I quickly say, beginning to stuff my books into my arms.

"Hold on, I wanted to talk to you about something," he says. His tone is so hopeful that my chest convulses again and when I look into his warm gaze, I can't say no. "I just… About earlier, with Quil… I know he's your friend and—"

"I don't hate you."

The words spill out so fast that I'm left to do nothing but star rather wide-eyed over at Paul. I open my mouth to counter them with something else, but, once again, he's staring at me with such affection that I don't know how anyone could be mean to him.

"You don't?" he asks, tone soft.

"Er… Well, I don't know you. But you have been stealing my friends and… I want to hate you, I just… _can't _for some reason," I explain. His expression falls and I hurry to mend it back to its previous happy one. "But I don't! I don't hate you! I actually think I have a crush on you!"

If there was a button that could rewind just a few seconds in time, this would precisely be the time in which I'd request its use. I know that there would never be another moment so humiliating—there is absolutely no way that this could be topped by anything.

My cheeks flame up so much that I swear I've never blushed so hard in my entire life and my eyes eased closed in a second of disbelief. In my mind, I go over that moment again, except I say something different and Paul doesn't end up looking at me like he can't quite believe what I'd said either.

_Fuck_.

Quickly, I finish gathering my things, ignore the curious gazes of the others who'd been in the cafeteria, and bustle out of the busy building. Once I'm out in the cool air that is swirling around outside and alone, I sigh deeply.

I pause for a second to get myself together, as if I could shake off everything that had just happened, and take another minute because I'm having to fight this urge that just keeps building in my stomach.

For a second or two I wonder if Paul is going to come after me, but when I remain alone on the chilly sidewalk, a flux of different emotions rumbles through me. A deep frown settles on my lips as I start to ease my way to history with Mr. Garner; _did I want him to come after me_? The thought strikes me rather suddenly and for a second or two, as I bypass other students sluggishly trailing to their own respective classes, I start too really panic.

This 'crush' with Paul was territory that I hadn't ventured to in a very long time, not seriously, anyway. Add on the fact that he was part of a group of people who I was pretty sure were a brainwashing cult that were recruiting my friends and I was lost in a pit full of confusing, rumbling emotions and choices that I just couldn't make.

A heavy sigh works its way out of my mouth as I cross the threshold into history class and, for the moment, because I feel like I'll go absolutely insane if I keep battling with myself over Paul Lahote, I decide to forget about him. But as I sit down in my desk and begin to listen to Mr. Garner begin to prattle on, I realize that is easier said than done.

I end up not even paying attention to the lecture because I'm so lost in the effort to fight off the pretty eyed boys image and have to borrow Leo Bodhi's, a boy who sits next to me, notes.

* * *

><p>"What do you think is up with him?"<p>

I sigh and rummage around on my plate, picking through the few fries that lingered there. After picking one up and stabbing it into some ketchup, I shove the whole thing into my mouth, which makes Sadie snort in amusement.

I wash the bit of food down with a gulp of coke before answering Sadie. "I think Quil could handle Embry walking away, but not Jake too. He was closer to them than we were and it's like they… just _left_."

"Yea, but he's being so ridiculous, Blair. Picking a fight with Paul Lahote? What was he thinking?" she exclaims, shining her worried brown eyes onto the tabletop.

"He was thinking that that Paul stole his best friends away from him. He hates him, Sadie—hates that entire gang. You know that."

"Yea, but Quil is smart. He knows that he'd get the shit beat out of him if he even tried to take one of those boys on, let alone two! He was being stupid and when he calms down, _eventually_, he'll realize that."

She's right, that I can see right away. Quil has always been the one who's had to tutor myself or Embry, sometimes even Sadie herself, in a certain school subject because we were doing rather poorly while Boy Genius was top of the class. That's why him picking fights with someone as big as Paul Lahote made absolute no sense; Quil had better sense than that.

I sigh and swallow down another ketchup soaked French fry. "I dunno, Sade… He's been acting weird, like Embry did before he ran off with Uley."

"You don't think Quil would, do you?"

Sadie's tone is quiet and she asks the question tentatively, like she's afraid to hear the answer. When I glance up at her, she's peering over at me with quite wide eyes and I think I can see how badly she wants me to decline the idea in her irises.

"It's Quilly we're talking about, Sade," I say, reaching over to steal one of her fries. "He would rather cut off his leg than leave you."

She blushes at that, but perks up and lets a happy smile flitter onto her mouth.

"He would not," she mumbles.

I snort. "I don't know who you two think you're fooling. Jake and I both know that you two are hot for each other."

"We are not!"

Chuckling, I shake my head at her, but decide to let the subject pass. We move on to planning a trip to Port Angeles soon in order to start scoping out the selections of dresses for our upcoming Winter Formal, picking a weekend to go, a time to depart from our meet-up location, and a car to take. We're in the middle of telling each other the kind of gown we're thinking about choosing when the previously boisterous La Push diner dies down just a bit in noise level.

As Sadie continues to tell me that she'd like a dress with long, full sleeves, I glance over my shoulder to see Jared and (who I now know to be his girlfriend) Kim push through the entrance, the girl seemingly being the only one between the two who picks up on the lack of talking as they walk to a table near ours.

Sadie stops speaking when she notices them and together, we watch as they shuffle into one side of a two-booth table. Jared glances over at us as Kim starts to take off her jacket and tries to offer a half of a smile, but can't quite manage the action.

"Anyway, Blair…" says Sadie.

She waits till she's drawn my attention back to her before she continues on about the 'dream dress' she wants and the kind she thinks will look good on my figure. She manages to get a few more sentences out before she's interrupted by a deep voice that comes from the table Jared is sat at.

"You two talking about the Winter Formal?" he asks, leaning closer to Kim in order to not have to shout over at us.

"Uh, yea," I reply. "We're talking about dress shopping."

"Oh, well, Kim's going. I'm her date, of course… Er, you two going to Port Angeles to get your dresses?"

I narrow my eyes at him after hearing this question, suspicion immediately flaring up as I wonder why he'd want to know that, or why he even cared where we were going to get our dresses.

"Yea, we are. Why?" says Sadie rather cautiously.

Jared shrugs, but its Kim who speaks up. "I heard that there are a lot of good dresses there. You two will find something gorgeous, I'm sure."

"We hope so," I murmur.

"Have you gotten your dress yet, Kim?" Sadie asks.

"Uh, well, no… I've not had the time, really. Busy with school and all."

"Well, you could go with us, if you'd like. It'll just be me and Blair, and we don't mind, do we Blair?"

For a second I think I do mind because I've never spoken to Kim before. She traveled in a circle of the academic elite, people who did so well in every class that there was simply no competition when it came to grades (even Quil's GPA was shabby compared to these peoples). I think we worked together in a group in an English class once, but that's as far as my social interaction with Kim goes.

"Er, well…"

"I don't know about going to Port Angeles," cutes in Jared.

"Why not?" asks Sadie.

"Haven't you heard of all those disappearance up there lately? Place is really chancy. I don't even want to think about what would happen to three girls up there by themselves."

I can practically feel Sadie glare over at Jared as soon as those words leave his mouth; even Kim sends him a curled upper lip and a steely glance.

"This is the 21st century, in case you didn't know that, and women are perfectly capable of taking of themselves, _thank you_," Sadie hisses.

Chuckling, I snatch another fry off her plate and then turn back to Jared. "I hope you don't talk to your momma like that."

"Yea, Jared," scoffs Kim. "That was really sexist. Don't you think I can take care of myself?"

"Not against leech—I mean, sure, baby. You can kick some ass, but there are some nasty dudes up there… They're lethal."

I think he was about to say something else in the beginning, but with eyes widening in alarm, had caught himself. When I glance over at Sadie to see if she'd caught his strange misstep, I notice that she's still glaring rather hotly at Jared and doesn't look as if her ears had caught anything beyond his rather derogatory comment.

"Well, Kim, erm… If you wanna _chance_ going to Port Angeles with a bunch of girls, Sadie and I are planning a trip next weekend, I think. We could catch you in school and tell you a time and place to meet and everything," I say.

I relent on letting her go with us because besides the fact that we've never actually talked properly before, I can't think of a reason not to invite her along.

Kim agrees to catch one of us in the hall on Thursday or Friday in order to get the finer details, then Sadie goes on a spiel about which gown she thinks will fit the fellow La Push native really well. Jared, meanwhile, looks rather abashed and simply eats the pizza slice he orders for himself; he keeps pretty quiet for the rest of our interactions with his girlfriend, only murmuring a 'see ya' to Sadie and I when we start to head out the door.

We make it to my car (Sadie still can't find a job and I'm beginning to get really worried for the time when I have to start looking for one) before my friend starts to screech on about sexism and 'boys like Jared Cameron'.

* * *

><p><span><strong>AN: **

_Hey guys! Did you like the new update? There was more Paul/Blair... Well, it was mainly just Blair embarrassing herself, BUT! There was still some action between the two. ;) Aaaaannnddd who is excited for the girl trip to Port Angeles? Blair and Kim bonding... I wonder if they'll be close once the 'big secret' is out? _

_Don't forget to review, pretty please, as it's really appreciate and aids in the effort to get out new chapters. I do want to thank all you precious little gems who have reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. I can't believe so many people have bothered with any of that, let alone like my story enough to want updates! Honestly, I'm absolutely thrilled at the response I've gotten so far and I hope it keeps up the farther we get into the story._

_P.S. ohalederek - That's my tumblr, where you should follow me. ;)_

_**Questions: **_

_[ ] Why do you think Jared doesn't want Kim, Sadie, and Blair going to Port Angeles?_

_[ ] Do you think Blair has a crush on Paul?_

_[ ] What's really up with Quil?_


	9. nine

**_"But there's nothing to be afraid of, even when the night changes..."_**

_Night Changes; One Direction_

* * *

><p>Jacob doesn't come to school the rest week. As a matter of fact, we don't see hide nor hair of him at all—no one does, not even his own father, according to Quil, who'd taken to slumming outside Billy Black's house after school in order to confront our friend about his sudden departure from all of our lives.<p>

It's weird and I know that something is up, but we can't find Jake in order to see what the problem is. Billy assures Quil and I that Jacob hasn't gone missing when the two of us bang on his door late one evening, and just tells us that we'll know in time. I nearly snap at hearing that because I think the man has gone a little off his rocker (and because that's all anyone around here can seem to say lately).

In the back of my mind, as I sit behind the steering wheel of my car and navigate the road to Kim's house, I wonder if we're all just in denial about Jake. His behavior is almost exactly like the kind Embry displayed before he ran off with Uley and the rest of that gang. He stopped coming to school, then seemed to just completely disappear, and finally, on that day when Paul Lahote had seemingly made a permanent residence in my life, he'd appeared as someone completely different; new hair, new clothes, and a new attitude to go along with his new friends.

The idea that Jacob would do something even remotely similar to what Embry has done makes me feel physically sick. I mean, he was _Jake_, for Christ's Sake! He likes motorcycles and dirt bikes and anything that will run, really, and he _always_ smells faintly of the grease and dirt that smokes up his garage. And he's the person who's been there for me through everything. When I broke up with my first boyfriend, when my older brother, Mason, went off to college, all those times my dad left on an assignment… Jacob was one of my best friends and for him to just vanish like he's done makes me a lot more upset than I'd first realized.

"Blair, you're going to miss the turn."

Sadie's voice jolts me out of my thinking and I startle back to the present, quickly hitting my break in order to veer to the left. I send out a muffled apology to my friend as I come to a stop in Kim's drive way. She says nothing, though, just offers me a comforting smile when I glance over at her.

That's when I realize that Jacob was only _one_ of my best friends and that I still had Sadie and Quil—that I'd always have those two love birds. It doesn't soothe the ache I can feel starting to build low in my chest, but it silences the worry about being left completely alone.

"Remember what I told you, Sade," I whisper as she and I start the short trek up to Kim's front door. "Don't bombard her or anything. She's new to you."

Sadie scoffs. "I'm not going to bombard her! We're going dress shopping, Blair, and I'm just going to help her find a pretty dress."

"No, you're going to find the dress for her and make her buy it."

"I will not!"

I snicker, give Sadie a playful shove, and then rap my knuckles against the wood of the oak door. It's not even a full second after the sound rasps out into the quiet night that it's swung open.

"Hey."

That voice resonates clearly with me before my brain even registers the tall, broad figure of the person standing in Kim's doorway; it doesn't make much sense, because I've only heard him speak just a handful of times, but I just _know _that voice and am nearly melting before I even pick up his burning stare.

Paul Lahote is standing in the threshold of the front entrance, trying to smile but not quite managing it as he sweeps me with a look that lights me on fire. I shiver against the feel of his orbs licking up my body and unconsciously lean forward a little when I feel his own familiar heat wrapping around my frigid skin.

_God, he was so… so…_

"Whoa, Blair," murmurs Sadie. "You almost fell over."

A thick blush spreads across my cheeks as Sadie tugs me away from the open door and I shuffle back even more as I draw in a steady breath.

"Hey Blair, Sadie!"

That's Kim and she sounds excited, but I'm too mortified to look up at her. Sadie nudges me, then starts for the other girl who'd pushed into this awkward bubble; I, meanwhile, try to think of a way that I can scoot past this hulk of a boy still lingering in the doorway.

I hadn't seen him since the incident on Monday. He'd been out the rest of the week (just like Jake, but I was ignoring that for now) so I hadn't ever had to confront the fact that I'd blurted out that I might have a crush on him; now, though, when I can practically feel his warm eyes on my figure, I realize that my avoidance of the whole thing was a mistake because I have no idea what to do.

"Blair, do you wanna come inside?" asks Kim.

Quickly, I nod and then hurry through the fog of tempting heat that always seems to be hanging around Paul's big body. I nearly knock Sadie over I get in such a rush to breeze past the boy and she sends me a frustrated look from over her shoulder as she steadies herself.

"What's with you?" she asks, tone low, so only I can hear.

I can't tell her, no matter how desperately I want to. Sadie didn't hate the Uley boys as much as Quil did, but I didn't think she'd take too lightly to me—_maybe_—developing a crush on one of them. I could practically recite her response and it wasn't anything pleasant.

"Nothing," I murmur in reply.

She studies me for a quick second but then Kim comes barreling in from the kitchen, tugging a sheepish Jared after her.

"Hey, uhm… Well, Jared wants to go with us too. Would that be alright?"

"Jared wants to go dress shopping with us?" Sadie says in disbelief (she's ticked him down into her bad book after that incident at the diner).

"Won't he get bored?" I question.

"Oh, no," Kim begins. "Paul could come too and keep him company."

It's at that moment that I _know _the universe is punishing me for something horrible I'd done; I can't think of any other reason as to why Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote would be coming dress shopping with us.

"Why do you want to go?" Sadie asks Jared.

"Well, Kim wanted my opinion on a dress and I thought that I could get my tux too. Kill two birds with one stone, and all that," he says.

I'm too busy internally combusting over the fact that Paul was coming too in order to care about Jared tagging along because I know, should I be put in close quarters with the big brute of a boy, that my actions will become something completely lost to my control. More than likely, I'll get lost in him like I so often do and breach a line that I should never cross, which will just make things worse for the Uley gang and my group of friends.

_Why is he even coming? _

"And Paul is… He's going to do what?" I manage out, stuttering over my words and increasing my blush.

"I'm going to help Jared pick out his tux. You know, offer the _better_ second opinion."

My head instinctively turns at the sound of his voice and my eyes widen as I _almost_ get lost in his pretty array of features once more. When his gaze snaps down to me, I gasp and whirl around, taking to staring down at the floor again.

"Oh, well…" starts Sadie.

I feel as she nudges me and I know it's an urge for me to let her know my opinion, but I have no idea what I really want to happen here.

If I was being honest, I didn't give a damn if Jared came; he could even sit shotgun, for all I care. As for Paul, though… I was flip-flopping back and forth between desperately wanting him to come and not wanting to have to sit through so many hours full of confusion, which is always something that the boys hulking presence always bring me.

When Sadie nudges me again, this time rather harshly, I begin to grow frustrated and whirl around on my heel, growling out a response to her as I head for Kim's car (the vehicle we'd designated to take on Thursday).

"Doesn't matter to me," I mutter while sweeping past Paul.

I catch a flare of heat that is always rolling off his muscled frame and nearly retrace my steps so I could sink down into the comforting warmth; it's only when I notice that he was turning to follow me out that I continue to scatter forward.

Kim's car is small—only able to seat four comfortably—so I'm not sure what the transportation is going to be now; that is the thought I'm looped around in when a deep voice resonates from beside me.

"You could ride with me, if you want."

My head snaps over to him, my eyes widen, and I gulp as I stare up at Paul's soft expression. He appears as if he's a little unsure about what he's just said and I think for a second to turn him down immediately; I think it's probably best, considering who he is, exactly, and the people he's affiliated with. However, the longer I drown in the golden depths of his eyes, the more that I think riding in his truck with him is the best idea I've heard in a while.

I'm just about to agree with a timid smile when Sadie, Kim, and Jared come out, all of them in conversation on the new car situation.

"Well, Blair can drive me and her," suggests Sadie.

"And I can ride with Jared and Paul," says Kim.

Quickly, I glance over at Paul to check his reaction to the new plan and instantly notice his furrowed brows as he peers over his shoulder at the three of them. I pick up on the tendons in his hands, too, noticing how much the stand out as he practically growls lowly at the small group joining us on the trip to Port Angeles.

I frown at his discomfort (which unsettles me when I realize how much I try to soothe him when I think he's upset) and am opening my mouth before I can truly think about what I'm going to say.

"I'm going to ride with Paul."

Silence engulfs us all. Paul quickly turns to face me, his eyes wide as he stares down at my smaller frame, and Sadie peers at us both with a quizzical look on her face.

"What?" my friend asks.

I sigh. "I'm going to ride with Paul. We can take his truck, and the three of you can take Kim's car. It all works out that way."

"Yea, but—" starts Sadie.

"That sounds great to me," cuts in Jared, who seems as if he's trying to hide a big grin while he stares over at Paul.

"Me too. That way we won't have to take Blair's car and we can take mine like we originally planned," quips Kim, who smiles brightly at us all.

Sadie peers at me for a little while longer, as if she's trying to see if I'm serious, and when she seems to have determined that I'd meant what I'd said, she deflates a little.

"Alright…Guess that's fine," she says slowly.

After sending a long look to Paul, who I swear starts to smirk the longer my best friend stares at him, she asks me for my car keys and says she'll lock it up after getting both our bags.

"Lets head out, then," speaks up Jared, who sends a wink to Kim before he lumbers over to Paul and I. "Hey, you two behave, alright? Last thing we need is a car wreck because you couldn't keep your hands off each other."

"Fuck you, man," hisses Paul.

I duck my head, murmur an 'Oh My God', and then spin on my heel in order to head for the truck that I think to be Paul's; I'm halfway to the vehicle before I feel a warm hand on the small of my back and the ghost of hot breath on my left ear.

"My truck's over here—the black one."

Paul steers me over into the right direction (and away from the one I'd taken to be his) just as Sadie hollers that I forgot my bag.

"Oh," I say softly.

In an attempt to turn around so I could head over to her, I sink further into Paul's touch and nearly sigh out loud at how good it feels to have a part of him touching me. And as I try to fight through the fog clouding my mind suddenly, I realize that, though this feel has a slight sexual underlining, the majority of it is composed of comfort and ease.

When I reach Sadie, she looks like someone has just strangled her and I instantly know why.

I sigh as I pull my purse from her hands.

"Blair, what the hell is going on? I thought you hated the Uley gang and now you're riding in a truck with one of them?" she screeches in a muted whisper.

"Paul is…."

"Do you like him?"

"No! … Maybe! I don't know, okay? I don't know."

"_What_?"

Another ragged sigh rattles out from my chest and I grumble in frustration as I rake a hand through my wind-tangled hair.

I don't have time to explain to Sadie; we have to start heading to Port Angeles now or all the stores will have closed by the time we get there. But I know later on, when we're back and going over our purchases, that she'll demand every little detail out of me (if not try to while we're shopping).

"I'll tell you later," I mutter.

"And don't think I'll forget!" she says as she starts to head for Kim's car.

After exhale of a long breath, I head for Paul's truck and when I see him waiting beside the passenger side in order to open my door, perk up a little. When I reach him, he sends me an unsure smile, but his entire face lights up with a handsome grin when I beam up at him.

"Thank you," I murmur softly as I ease into the cool leather seat of the cab.

He gives a nod of his head. "Welcome."

Jared hollers something else out as Paul jogs around the front of his truck in order to get to the drivers side and he merely flicks him off, which results in his friend bursting into a loud laughing fit.

I decide I don't even want to ask what Jared said.

**(&)**

At first, neither of us says anything. Quiet drapes the inside of the cab like a steel blanket that neither of us seemingly can cut through. A few times I think to mention something, but then decide against it just as I open my mouth. I know I must look ridiculous, with my mouth flopping open and then snapping closed like that, but the useless movements continue till I resign myself to shuffling down further in the seat.

Minutes later, gooseflesh pricks up onto my forearms and I feel around beside me before I realize that I'd left my jacket in my car. A frustrated sigh rattles out and I start to grumble underneath my breath, huddling farther down in the leather seats of the cab.

"Something wrong?"

His voice is deep, resonating clearly from low within his chest, and I nearly forget to respond to him; it's only when his pretty, warm eyes narrow a little in concern that I snap back.

"Oh, erm… I just forgot to bring my jacket."

"You can wear mine," he says.

My eyes widen a little at hearing his solution to my chilled skin, but then a slow, small smile slips onto my lips and I nod.

"Okay," I murmur. "Thank you."

He smiles, too, and hands me the thick piece of constructed fabric.

The sleeves are much too long when I slide it on, flopping over my hands when I get it settled on me, and quite a bit of the warming material pools around where I sit. It's massive on me, his jacket is, but it's warm from having been squished so close to his hot body and I can smell his cologne as the fabric swaths around my form.

_It smells like… Like… _

The thought of what I'm smelling won't form correctly in my mind, rendered incapable because I'm wearing _Paul's _jacket and _Paul_ is sitting directly beside me and _Paul _is coming along on a trip that is sure to stretch on for a few hours, which would be the most time I'd ever spent with him (never mind that we'll be with a group of other people). It's a little overwhelming and I know that I should be a little miffed at him and Jared for shoving in on our shopping trip, but, strangely, as I sit beside his burly figure and am draped in his warm jacket, I don't care anymore.

"You okay?"

I startle a little at hearing his deep voice, snapping my head around to peer at him, and have to swallow before I'm able to manage even the smallest nod. Paul frowns a little at me but flashes his amber colored irises back to the road.

But the frown makes something uncomfortable rumble in the pit of my stomach, as if the mere expression on this handsome boys face disturbs me; I find that I _have_ to say something in an effort to push it from his pretty features.

"I'm sorry about Monday… About what I said. I know that was… Well, it was awkward," I mumble, glancing down to where my hands rest in my lap.

"Oh, uhm, well… I didn't really mind," he says.

My eyebrows shoot up at this. "You didn't?"

Paul shifts in his seat and sends me a look I can't quite read out of the corner of his eye. He looks a bit uncomfortable, like this topic is something he'd rather we'd just swept under the rug, and I regret bringing it up.

I scoot away from him a little bit as the heat of embarrassment trickles through my body. In my mind, I question why I chose this to be the thing I'd use to run that frown off his pretty face—I question what could possibly had made me think that this, a topic I'd deliberately been running away from all week, would work in dissolving that rather distressed looking expression he'd been wearing.

Sighing, I card a hand through my tangled hair, chewing down on my lip for a second as the idea to ride back with Kim and Sadie while making Jared hop shotgun with Paul blazes quickly through my mind.

_It would save us both all the awkwardness. _

But just as I go to fumble around in my bag in order to text Sadie an S.O.S., Paul speaks up again.

"I'm not good with, you know… Talking about things like that. S'not really something I do a lot of. But if you want to, I don't mind. It just mind take me a few tries to get it right…"

I'm shocked—completely at a loss for what to do because it takes me a few proper seconds to register what this hulking boy has just said.

_He was willing to try…_

I don't know what's happening between him and I or if anything really is transpiring whatsoever; but what I do know is that I feel like I could sit in the cab of his truck for days and wait if he needed me to, so long as he kept talking (whether it be about what color the sky is or how he felt about me, I don't really care). So, with another slow smile spreading across my lips, I inch just a little bit closer to him, and nod.

"I can be patient," I murmur.

And when he chances a quick glance away from the road, his eyes are shining with something I'd never seen in them before; it's something I can't quite place, but I decide that I like the way it lights up his beautiful face.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Authors Note:<strong>

_'Ello there, my beauties! How're you all? I hope your splendid and enjoyed this (long overdue) chapter! To be honest, I feel a little iffy about the ending... That's one of the reasons it took me so long to update. This story is one of the first that I've ever put so much effort into and I honestly want it to be outstanding, so a mediocre ending like the one I think I provided you lot is not sitting well with me right now. Nevertheless, as I mentioned before, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. _

_As for my long absence: I got a new job that ended up sucking up all my free time, which I used to write, and I also go to college full time, so that leaves me very little time to sit down and properly give this story the time and attention it needs. I don't feel right with just plopping something down and spinning it out for all of you wonderful daisies; like I said before, this story means a lot to me and I want it to be good. I thought it was best that I wait to update when I feel quite settled with what I've come up with rather than feel crummy about a chapter I got up quickly. (And hopefully you feel the same way!)_

_Thank you, thank you, **thank you** to all of the lovely people who've let lots of support and helpful insight in the past few weeks. It's helped a great deal in battling writers block and overcoming plot hurdles. :)_

_Oh! An updates are still going to be on Tuesday, it just might not be every week because of my job. I'm off on winter break now, though, so maybe I'll get back to updating regularly! Fingers crossed! _

**QUESTIONS: **

[-] Will Blair and Paul actually get to talk about their feelings in the next chapter?

[-] How is Quil going to feel after he finds out who Sadie and Blair have hung out with?

[-] There's a winter dance coming up; who do you think will be Sadie and Blair's date?


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